The Big Picture - The Ringer

Latest Episodes:

‘Wild Horse Nine’ Is a Hilarious American Tragedy. Plus: ‘Possible Love’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’. Nov 06, 2026

Show notes

On today’s show, Sean and Amanda cover ‘Wild Horse Nine’, Martin McDonagh’s wonderful new dark comedy. They break down why it’s one of the best movies of the year, celebrate Sam Rockwell’s incredible performance, and wonder if John Malkovich will win Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Then, they discuss Lee Chang-dong’s new film ‘Possible Love’ and try to unpack why it’s a movie they really like, but don’t absolutely love. Finally, they briefly talk about ‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ before Sean is joined by David Greaves and Anne de Mare to explore the incredibly complicated and rewarding journey behind bringing the documentary to life.

(0:00) Intro

(3:40) Joel Coen’s ‘Jack of Spades’ acquired by Netflix

(6:43) ‘Wild Horse Nine’

(22:03) SPOILER WARNING

(52:15) ‘Possible Love’

(1:08:06) ‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’

(1:12:00) David Greaves and Anne de Mare join the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: David Greaves and Anne de Mare

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Gene Hackman Hall of Fame Nov 03, 2026

Show notes

In one of the most requested episodes in the history of the show, Sean and Amanda are joined by Tracy Letts to honor the incredible actor Gene Hackman by building his Hall of Fame.

(0:00) Intro

(0:44) What made Gene Hackman so special

(24:23) The Gene Hackman Hall of Fame

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Tracy Letts

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Get a Sausage McMuffin with Egg, PLUS hash browns AND a small coffee, for just $5. Only at McDonald’s for a limited time.

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‘Wildwood,’ ‘Wicker,’ and 10 Movies We Missed! Plus: Travis Knight! Oct 30, 2026

Show notes

On today’s show, Sean and Amanda are joined by Joanna Robinson to help cover the incredibly busy movie month that is October. Before diving in, though, they take a broad look at the state of the Oscar races, and Jo shares some of her boldest predictions. Then, they discuss myriad movies, ranging from incredibly interesting to deeply grim, including ‘Wildwood’ and ‘Wicker.’ Finally, Sean is joined by filmmaker Travis Knight to share some insight into the extensive, laborious process behind the making of ‘Wildwood’ and explain why it’s actually absurd but also incredibly magical.

(0:00) Intro

(2:36) ‘Dune: Part Three’ trailer reaction

(6:04) The state of the Oscar races

(34:13) Movies we missed

(35:00) ‘Wicker’

(42:57) ‘Wildwood’

(1:03:20) ‘The Only Living Pickpocket in New York’

(1:10:39) ‘Love of Your Life’

(1:19:12) ‘Sacrifice’

(1:22:40) ‘Finding Emily’

(1:27:48) ‘Matchbox: The Movie’

(1:34:11) ‘Tenzing,’ ‘Everest: The Other Side,’ and ‘The Last First: Winter K2’

(1:52:16) ‘Klara and the Sun’

(1:56:26) Travis Knight joins the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Travis Knight and Joanna Robinson

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Halloween Movie Draft Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

Live from the Toni Rembe theater in San Francisco, it’s the Halloween Movie Draft! Sean and Amanda are joined by friends of the pod Chris Ryan and Alex Ross Perry to select their favorite spooky genre movies of all time.

(0:00) What makes a Halloween movie?

(21:12) The draft categories and order

(25:21) The Halloween Movie Draft

(1:51:28) Honorable mentions and draft recap

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Chris Ryan and Alex Ross Perry

Producers: Jack Sanders, Elizabeth Fierman, Helen Eichner, and Charlie Finan

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Ben Cruz

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The 10 Best Horror Movies of 2026 and ‘Clayface.’ Plus, ‘Street Fighter’ With Shea Serrano! Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

On today’s show, Sean is joined by Chris Ryan for all things horror. First, they react to the casting rumors for the much-anticipated role of James Bond and hypothesize why there is a new trend of limiting theatrical exhibition for movies with poor tracking data. Then, they cover DC Studios' new body horror film ‘Clayface,’ a type of movie that they have collectively been begging for from the superhero genre but is ultimately a pretty mixed bag. Then, they evaluate what the current state of the horror genre looks like, and share their favorite horror movies of 2026. Finally, Sean is joined by Shea Serrano to discuss the new ‘Street Fighter’ movie and break down all of the reasons why both this movie, and many video game adaptations at large, don’t totally work. Then, they share some of their favorite fight scenes of all time.

(0:00) Intro

(0:57) James Bond casting rumors

(8:47) Tom Skerritt passes away at 93 years old

(11:47) Why is there a reduction of theatrical exhibition for certain movies?

(20:30) ‘Clayface’

(38:58) The future of DC movies

(43:02) The current state of the horror genre

(1:21:55) The best horror movies of the year

(1:38:25) Shea Serrano joins the show to discuss ‘Street Fighter’

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guest: Shea Serrano and Chris Ryan

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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‘You Can See Everything’ Mania and Best Picture Power Rankings. Plus: ‘Whalefall,’ ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ and Kyle MacLachlan! Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Sean and Amanda open today’s jam-packed episode by celebrating the incredible box office performance over the weekend, especially from ‘You Can See Everything’ and ‘Street Fighter.’ Then, they cover the major shake-up at Netflix, most notably the firings of Bela Bajaria and Dan Lin. Then, they discuss an incredibly “Sean-coded” movie in ‘Whalefall’ and an incredibly “Amanda-coded” movie in ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ which they both were very mixed on. Later, they conduct their second Best Picture Power Rankings of the season and make some drastic changes from last month’s list. Finally, legendary actor Kyle MacLachlan joins the show for a new series called One Year, where Sean asks all about the magical period from 1985 to 1986 when he made ‘Blue Velvet’ with the late, great David Lynch.

(0:00) Intro

(1:21) The big box office performances of ‘You Can See Everything’ and ‘Street Fighter’

(6:06) Huge Netflix shake-up with major layoffs

(15:26) Steven Soderbergh takes over principal photography for Matt Reeves on ‘The Batman: Part II’

(18:23) ‘Whalefall’

(33:11) ‘Sense and Sensibility’

(52:31) Best Picture Power Rankings

(1:26:01) Kyle MacLachlan joins the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Kyle MacLachlan

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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You Must See ‘You Can See Everything.’ Plus: Judd Apatow! Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

We’re not deceiving you: This is the movie of the year. Sean and Amanda open today’s show by reacting to the first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s much anticipated ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,’ discussing the news that Zendaya will star in Alex Garland’s next sci-fi film for A24, and also breaking down how the show will cover a handful of fall movie releases. Then, they dive incredibly deep into Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s three-hour documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, ‘You Can See Everything.’ They briefly discuss the film in a spoiler-free conversation and give it the utmost recommendation possible. Then, they go (as best of memory) beat-by-beat of the film and dissect all of its wonderfully captivating and fascinating twists and turns. Finally, legendary comedy filmmaker, showrunner, producer, and documentarian Judd Apatow joins the show to talk about his two new documentaries: ‘Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story,’ and ‘Norm: The Tale of Norm MacDonald.'

(0:00) Intro

(1:25) ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’ trailer reaction

(12:33) Zendaya to star in Alex Garland’s upcoming science-fiction film

(14:16) How we’re covering upcoming movies this fall

(18:34) ‘You Can See Everything’

(35:37) SPOILER WARNING

(1:50:25) Awards and box office chances

(1:57:49) Judd Apatow joins the show!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Judd Apatow

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Ben Affleck Hall of Fame and ‘Animals.’ Plus: ‘Other Mommy’ Is Jump-Scary and Silly Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Gather ‘round folks, a long-awaited episode has arrived. Sean and Amanda open the show by covering a lengthy amount of movie news, including ‘The Social Reckoning’ bombing at the box office, reacting to the new trailers released for ‘River’ and ‘Exorcist: Martyrs,’ and of course, some updates on ‘The Beatles.' Then, they discuss the new Blumhouse horror movie, ‘Other Mommy,’ starring Jessica Chastain, and have a spirited debate on whether or not it was ultimately successful. Later, they break down ‘Animals,’ the new Ben Affleck vehicle, and explore where this “spiritual” ‘High and Low’ sequel went horribly wrong. Finally, they talk about what makes Ben Affleck so special and construct his Hall of Fame.

(0:00) Intro

(0:51) ‘Miami Vice ‘85’

(3:12) Weekend box office

(13:59) Trailer reactions (‘River’ and ‘Exorcist: Martyrs’)

(17:25) Sadie Sink to star in ‘The Guest’ adaptation and Derek Cianfrance adapting Gary Paulsen’s 'Survival Book: Hatchet' for Netflix

(18:33) ‘The Beatles’ movies updates

(22:58) ‘Other Mommy’

(31:26) SPOILER WARNING

(40:58) ‘Animals’

(58:30) What makes Ben Affleck so special?

(1:06:10) The Ben Affleck Hall of Fame

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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‘The Social Reckoning’ Is No ‘The Social Network,’ and the Top Five Most Unnecessary Legasequels. Plus: The Best Movies at NYFF! Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Drop the “the.” Just “Big Picture.” It’s cleaner. Today on Big Picture, Sean and Amanda discuss the much anticipated (and also dreaded) legacy sequel ‘The Social Reckoning,’ written and directed by one of our main characters: Aaron Sorkin. Before diving in, they briefly react to the official merging of Warner Bros. and Paramount and hypothesize what the future of David Ellison’s Skydance will look like. Then, Sean shares his New York Film Festival recap and highlights the best movies he saw, many of which Amanda has also seen. Next, in theme with corporate power trillionaires, they cover Alex Gibney’s new documentary, ‘Musk,’ and break down what did and didn’t work for them. Finally, they unpack all of their feelings on ‘The Social Reckoning,’ explore why many of the performances didn’t jive with Sorkin’s style, and share their most unnecessary legasequels of all time.

(0:00) Intro

(1:22) Skydance movie news

(13:02) New York Film Festival recap

(44:33) ‘Musk’

(53:58) ‘The Social Reckoning’

(1:35:48) The most unnecessary legasequels

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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‘Verity’ Is Trash. But Is It Good Trash? Plus: ‘Digger’ Flopped and Warner Bros. Is No More. Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Another year, another Colleen Hoover adaptation. How lucky are we? Before diving into the biggest box office success from the weekend, Sean and Amanda react to the news that Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy will not continue their roles at David Ellison’s Skydance. They look back at their biggest successes and failures, and wonder what the future of Skydance looks like. Then, they briefly discuss ‘Sicario 3’ being greenlit with all of the returning stars, but notably neither Denis Villeneuve or Stefano Sollima. Finally, they cover ‘Verity,’ an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s erotic thriller, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett. They break down why the original source material sets the movie up for failure, what they want from the erotic thriller genre going forward, and debate whether we have a “Dakota Johnson problem.”

(0:00) Intro

(0:50) ‘Digger’ bombs at the box office

(7:32) Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy out at Warner Bros.-Paramount, and the future of Skydance

(38:04) ‘Sicario 3’ a go with Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin to return

(41:09) ‘Verity’

(1:02:07) SPOILER WARNING

(1:23:31) Dakota Johnson temperature check

(1:29:24) The state of erotic thrillers vs. what we want

(1:32:46) Looking forward to the October slate

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Remy Hernandez