The Big Picture - The Ringer

Latest Episodes:

The 15 Most Anticipated Movies Out of CinemaCon and Our Trip to the Sphere! Apr 17, 2026

Show notes

Sean and Amanda are joined by Puck’s Matt Belloni to recap their trip to the annual Hollywood Studio and theatrical exhibitor trade show CinemaCon! First, they break down their trip to Las Vegas and review their experience seeing ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the Sphere (1:12). Then, they discuss the general state of movies in 2026 and share all of their main takeaways from CinemaCon (18:14). To close out the show, they each share their five most anticipated movies coming out of the event (54:21).

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Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Matt Belloni

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The 2026 Summer Movie Preview "Boom or Bust" Game Apr 14, 2026

Show notes

On today’s show, Sean and Amanda bring back the Summer Movie Preview game—with some additional clarity around scoring—where they preview every major release slated across the summer and predict its box office and Metacritic score (4:47). Then, Sean is joined by Daniel Goldhaber to discuss his new film, ‘Faces of Death,’ starring Barbie Ferreira. He cites how the attention economy has drastically impacted young people’s lives, why he’s pushing the envelope of including radical leftist politics into his work, and breaks down his personal experience with the studio system (1:28:52).

Have a question for our 900th episode mailbag? Email us at bigpicmailbag@gmail.com or call us at 323-488-3241 and leave a message!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Daniel Goldhaber

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Meryl Streep Hall of Fame Apr 10, 2026

Show notes

In anticipation of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ Sean and Amanda embark on a staggering journey to build the Meryl Streep Hall of Fame. Before making their list, they react to the official lineup of films announced to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and go through some other smaller movie news headlines (0:48). Then, they talk through what makes Streep one of the greatest actors of all time and sort through every one of her 64 feature film performances across her illustrious career (16:58).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The 2026 Movie Star Rankings: 35 Under 35 Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

Sean and Amanda reconvene the movie star committee to rank the 35 most important movie stars under the age of 35. Before diving in, they declare that we’re officially back following the domestic box office hitting a post-pandemic high (0:48). Then, they make the case for why movie stars still matter (7:56); share their main takeaways from their new list, including the biggest winners and losers (22:54); and rank Hollywood’s biggest young actors based on a blend of what a star has done already, what they have on their slate next, and what they could turn into in the future (47:58).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Top 10 Movie Plot Twists and ‘The Drama.’ Plus: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Certainly Exists. Apr 03, 2026

Show notes

Sean and Amanda open the show by tackling some movie news headlines, including the green-lighting of a ‘Weapons’ prequel at Warner Bros., speculation that ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’ could premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and the first trailer for 20-year-old Kane Parsons’s highly anticipated horror film, ‘Backrooms’ (1:07). Then, they cover ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,’ which they found to be creatively and aesthetically bankrupt, and explain why they think it is an “evil movie” (13:56). Next, they unpack Kristoffer Borgli’s untraditional romantic comedy ‘The Drama,’ starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson (33:03). They break down why they anticipate a divided public reception, explain why they found the movie’s flipping of rom-com tropes to be hugely successful, and fully spoil the movie by analyzing its central “twist.” Finally, they share a list of their top 10 favorite movie plot twists of all time (1:08:15).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The Best Movies of the Year … So Far. Plus: 15 We Missed! Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

Sean and Amanda open the show with a few movie news topics including Ryan Gosling being cast in the highly anticipated next film for the Daniels, and the Oscars' decision to leave the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the 2029 Academy Awards (1:19). Then, they cover 15 2026 movies they have yet to discuss on the show this year, and share their top five favorite films of the year so far (19:04). Finally, Sean is joined by BenDavid Grabinski to discuss his new film, ‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice,’ as well as his long and arduous journey to directing his own material, what it’s actually like to pitch your movie, and why he needs to creatively collaborate with people who genuinely love movies (1:45:52).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: BenDavid Grabinski

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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The 1988 Movie Draft Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

We’re drafting again! Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan and Bill Simmons to draft their favorite movies from the year 1988.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh and Jacob Cornett

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The Steven Spielberg Conversation Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Sean is joined by legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg for an extensive conversation about his illustrious career; what excited him about making his upcoming science fiction film, ‘Disclosure Day’; and how he feels about the current state of the industry (6:20).

Host: Sean Fennessey

Guest: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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‘Project Hail Mary’ Will Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! With Phil Lord and Chris Miller Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

Sean and Amanda open the show by reacting to a ton of movie news, including the Oscar ratings being down 9 percent from last year, the new trailer for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ and Kirsten Dunst joining the cast of the upcoming ‘Minecraft Movie’ sequel (1:22). Then, they cover the biggest movie event of 2026 so far: Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s science fiction film ‘Project Hail Mary,’ starring Ryan Gosling (31:57). They break down why the film’s practicality is incredibly essential to its success and how the movie is beautiful in a way that mainstream Hollywood productions typically aren’t. Finally, Sean is joined by Lord and Miller themselves to discuss why they felt Andy Weir’s novel was the perfect source material for their next project and how the complicated process behind shooting space scenes was incredibly rewarding (1:08:19).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®️. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®️.

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The Oscar Hangover Mailbag. Plus: ‘Dune: Part Three’ Is Coming! Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

Sean and Amanda kick off the show by reacting to a laundry list of movie news, including the new trailer for Denis Villeneuve's ‘Dune: Part Three,’ starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya; the reports that Bradley Cooper will direct a new 'Ocean's 11' prequel for Warner Bros.; and Universal’s decision to extend theatrical windows for new releases (1:15). Then, they open up the mailbag for a post-Oscars hangover discussion and talk through whether or not Chalamet will be OK going forward, what the Oscars can do differently when they move over to YouTube, and how the industry can build positive momentum around the good energy surrounding the state of cinema (35:22).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the Personal Price Plan®️. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there®️.

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