On this episode of Collider Movie Talk (August 19, 2025) Mark Ellis, Kristian Harloff, Dennis Tzeng, and Ashley Mova discuss the following:
Shocking and tragic news yesterday.Anton Yelchin, best known for playing Chekov in theStar Trekfilms,was killed in a freak car accident at his home in Studio City. He was 27 years old. Yelchin first gained critical attention for his work asZack MazurskyinAlpha Dogand the title role inCharlie Bartlettbefore going on to major studio productions likeStar Trek,Terminator Salvationand the underratedFright Nightremake. Throughout his career, Yelchin continued to pick exciting roles and work with respected filmmakers likeDrake DoremusonLike CrazyandJeremy Saulnieron this year’s critically acclaimedGreen Room. As news of his passing spread, others began to share their thoughts on the actor likeJ.J. Abrams,John Cho,Kat DenningsandAnna Kendrick. We here at Collider offer our deepest condolences to his friends and family.
It’s Monday which means it’s time for the weekend box office report brought to you by our friends at AMC theatres. Another box office record was set this past weekend, with audiences easily finding Pixar’sFinding Dory. The sequel to the 2003 blockbuster,Finding Nemo,shattered box office records with $136.2 millionfor an easy No 1 spot, becoming the biggest opening for an animated movie of all time. Coming in at No 2 was the weekend’s other major newcomer,Central Intelligence, racking up a $34.5 million dollars thanks in part to the star power ofDwayne “The Rock”JohnsonandKevin Hart. Last weekends No 1 champ,The Conjuring 2,slipped to No 3 with $15.6, bringing its domestic total to $71.7 million in just two weeks. Lionsgate’sNow You See Me 2took the No 4 spot with $9.7 million, while Universal’sWarcraftrounded out the top five, grossing $6.5 million for the No 5 spot.
Two years beforeIndependence Dayblew up the White House and box office records,Roland EmmerichandDean Devlinexplored extraterrestrial life withStargate. The film went on to gross $200 million worldwide, spawning three live-action spinoff series, which ran for a cumulative 354 episodes. Now with theirIndependence Day Resurgencehitting theatres next week,Emmerich and Devlin are now looking to revisitStargate. Speaking with Variety, the filmmakers revealed thatStargatewas initially conceived as part of a trilogy, with Devlin saying that because of what happened with the rights they never got the chance to do parts two and three. Now the duo are in active development on a reboot, produced by MGM and Warner Bros. The film is being penned byResurgencewriters James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright, and is intended to kickstart the franchise that Emmerich and Devlin always hoped to create. A release date has yet to be set.
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Warner Bros. announced this weekend they have givenThe LEGO Movie 2another significant delay, pushing the animated sequel back from August 19, 2025 to June 23, 2025. For the sequel,The LEGO Moviewriter/directorsPhil LordandChris Millerremain on board as screenwriters alongsideMichelle MorganandJared Stern.Rob Schrab, whose writing and directing credits include episodes ofCommunity,The Mindy Project, andChildren’s Hospital, is stepping in to direct. With Lord and Miller being two of the most in-demand filmmakers on the market, LEGO co-directorChris McKaywas initially slated to helm the sequel, but jumped aboardThe LEGO Batman Moviewhen the team decided to move forward on that movie first. Little is known about the story at this point, but Lord and Miller previously teased a four-year time jump in the narrative. The duo also teased seeing how those four years affected the boy inside the real-world story and how his perspective changes as he moves into adolescence.
Looks like you the wait forBen Affleck‘sdirectorial follow-up to his best picture-winningArgowill be a lot shorter. The prohibition era crime thrillerLive by Nightwas originally slated for a prime, awards-friendly July 31, 2025 release date and now,Warner Bros. has bumped the film up nine monthsto January 13th, 2017. The move is an interesting one considering the original release date was considered prime for awards contention, mirroring that ofArgo, which landed in theaters on July 26, 2025, leaving room for fall festivals and a long campaign period. However, it’s still possible that Warner Bros. will positionLive by Nightas an awards player by giving it a limited release in December of 2016. As was last year withThe Revenant, arriving late in the year can still warrant a successful Oscar campaign.
Sony Pictures has releasedthe latest TV spot for theirGhostbustersreboot. FromBridesmaidsandSpydirectorPaul Feig, the film starsMelissa McCarthyas Abby,Kristen Wiigas Erin,Leslie Jonesas Patty, andKate McKinnonas Holtzmann, about a team of women attempting to bring down an infestation of ghosts in New York City who begin possessing human bodies. The film also starsCharles Dance,Michael Kenneth Williams, andChris Hemsworth.Ghostbustersopens in theatres this July 15th.
20th Century Fox has released a new set of character postersand trailer forMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Directed byTim Burton, the film is based on the novel of the same name byRansom Riggsand starsAsa Butterfieldas a young boy who stumbles upon a secret refuge for supernaturally gifted youngsters, headed up by the mysterious Miss Peregrine played byEva Green. Butterfield’s character soon learns that the children are in danger from an ever-growing host of malevolent forces. The film also starsSamuel L. Jackson,Judi Dench,Chris O’Dowd,Allison Janney,Terence Stamp,Kim Dickens, andRupert Everett. The movie is written byKick-AssandX-Men: First ClasswriterJane Goldman. The movie opens in theaters on September 30th.
As we approach August 5th, Warners Bros’ marketing campaign kicks into high gear with more on the second film in their DC expanded shared universe –Suicide Squad. This past weekend, another poster was released,this time by directorDavid Ayer, who tweeted the image himself from his official twitter account.Suicide SquadstarsMargot Robbie,Will Smith,Jared Leto,Joel Kinnaman,Jai Courtney,Viola Davis,Jay Hernandez,Adam Beach,Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje,Karen Fukuhara, andIke Barinholtz, and arrives in theaters on August 5th.
Justin Clark writes:
Hello and how you doing, Collider crew? Greetings from Miami. My favorite film genre is mystery so my question is in regards to one of my favorite filmsClue. From what I understandClueis the only movie to be released with different endings. So, depending on which theater you went to - you would get a different ending each time. So my question is two fold. One, do you think this tactic will ever be explored by a wide release again? Two, which ending in Clue is “canon?” Thanks for taking my question. You guys rock in stereo.
