Movies Update: ‘Superman’ soars into theaters.
Plus, Danielle Deadwyler on ‘40 Acres.’
Movies Update
July 11, 2025

Hi, movie fans!

The film desk is still recovering from the major push that was the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. But there’s no time to rest as “Superman” is hitting theaters this weekend. And by most accounts it’s a fun time.

My colleague Alissa Wilkinson even made it a Critic’s Pick, writing that the director James Gunn delivers a “charming take” on the familiar superhero tale. She adds, “It’s a sincere but also goofy movie, with a few well-timed twists on the mythology and a couple of added characters (I won’t spoil it, I promise) who keep things light at just the right moments.”

This is probably a relief to Warner Bros., which has a lot riding on the movie, starting with a reported budget of $225 million. The studio is also counting on “Superman” to reposition the DC Universe as a true rival to Marvel after years of being an also-ran. Is the movie likely to fulfill those expectations? The answer may be yes, if the box office projections are correct. The weekend predictions range from $100 million to $140 million domestically, plus $100 million more overseas. But box office predictions in the streaming era haven’t always been accurate.

Stay tuned!

CRITICS’ PICKS

Two women in sparkly blouses and one man in a red and black summer shirt stand in a street in Paris.

Radiance

Critic’s Pick

‘Rosa la Rose: Fille Publique’ Review: Lady Liberty of the Streets

A new restoration of a 1986 drama by the filmmaker Paul Vecchiali melds a candy-colored vision of the world’s oldest profession with a grim take on neoliberalism.

By Beatrice Loayza

A man with gray hair leans against rocks and looks pensively off camera.

Grasshopper Films

Critic’s Pick

‘Little, Big, and Far’ Review: Dwelling in the Cosmos

The experimental director Jem Cohen’s latest is an uncategorizable film about astronomers and humanity and love and the stars.

By Alissa Wilkinson

MOVIE REVIEWS

Three women in colorful outfits tilt their heads to the side when looking at something off camera.

Quantrell Colbert/Perry Well Films 2, via Netflix

‘Madea’s Destination Wedding’ Review: Hellur, Bahamas

Tyler Perry returns as a series of characters, and this time, the real struggle for the family is boarding a plane.

By Glenn Kenny

A young woman wearing a peach shirt tied at the stomach and jean shorts runs down a palm tree lined street near a man with a black shirt and tight jeans.

Strand Releasing

‘Wild Diamond’ Review: The Reel World

In this French coming-of-age drama, a young woman auditions for a reality show to escape life at home.

By Chris Azzopardi

A child in a gray shirt sits in a house near a woman in an orange dress with ruffled sleeves.

Coco Van Oppens/Sony Pictures Classics

‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ Review: Through a Child’s Eyes

This drama about a white family in Zimbabwe is told almost entirely from the girl’s point of view.

By Natalia Winkelman

A man in a white suit holds a $20 bill while standing in a wood-paneled room with an American flag, a black chair and a clock on the wall in the background.

Briarcliff Entertainment

‘Sovereign’ Review: The Fringe and the Forgotten

Nick Offerman stars as an anti-government widower whose extremist philosophy inches closer and closer to violent conflict.

By Brandon Yu

Three people peer into a hole in the floor. One person sticks a baseball bat through the hole, toward the apartment below.

Sasha Ostrov/Netflix

‘Brick’ Review: No Way Out?

In this overly constructed thriller from Germany, tenants are trapped in an apartment building by a mysterious bulwark.

By Lisa Kennedy

A man and woman run hand-in-hand through a modern building, looking alarmed, while another person is behind them. The woman wears a light blue dress; the man wears a gray T-shirt and dark pants.

Virginia M.Chico/Filmax

‘Daniela Forever’ Review: His Girlfriend’s Back

In this agreeably unpretentious science-fiction feature, Henry Golding plays a D.J. who has lucid dreams about his dead girlfriend.

By Ben Kenigsberg

In a movie still, a hand with a ring on one finger holds down one side of an open Bible-looking book.

Netflix

Documentary Lens

‘Apocalypse in the Tropics’: A Passionate Take on Brazilian Politics

The director Petra Costa examines a rightward shift in her country by zeroing in on the rise of a televangelist.

By Alissa Wilkinson

ANATOMY OF A SCENE

A large dinosaur with its mouth wide open, showing sharp teeth, faces a person with long hair in a jungle setting.

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

Anatomy of a Scene

How to Escape a T-Rex in ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’

The director Gareth Edwards narrates a harrowing sequence from his film.

By Mekado Murphy

NEWS & FEATURES

A portrait set against a blurred floral background shows a woman in white looking at the camera. Her hands are clasped under her cheek.

Erik Carter for The New York Times

Danielle Deadwyler on Balancing Brutality and Family in ‘40 Acres’

The star plays a stoic matriarch raising a militant brood to protect their land and each other against cannibals in R.T. Thorne’s new horror indie.

By Maya Salam

In an animated screenshot, a character with a fierce expression makes a martial arts pose.

A24

‘Ne Zha 2,’ Blockbuster Chinese Animated Film, Will Get English Version

The English-language version will feature the voice of Michelle Yeoh and be released in the United States in August.

By Derrick Bryson Taylor

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

Two men with blood on their faces have an intense confrontation; one grabs the other’s jacket as they stand close, staring at each other in a gritty, industrial setting.

Lionsgate

Five Action Movies to Stream Now

This month’s picks include desperate fathers, a remorseful MMA fighter and more.

By Robert Daniels

A man in a hoodie and a green jacket holds hands with a woman in a dress with a teal jacket and a yellow skirt.

Giles Keyte/Disney

5 Children’s Movies to Stream Now

This month’s picks include a live-action version of Disney classic and an animated K-pop fantasy musical.

By Dina Gachman

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