The Hype Check
By The Hype Check
Categories: TV & Film
The Hype Check cuts through the noise on the movies everyone is talking about — from Hollywood blockbusters to the surprise hits climbing the US charts. Honest, spoiler-light reviews that tell you what's actually worth your ticket and your evening, so you never waste two hours on hype alone.
80 episodes indexed on podsearch.
Recent episodes
- Onwards and Sideways: The 100% Small Film Sneaking Into Cinemas — Worth the Hype?
Onwards and Sideways is now playing in UK cinemas, directed by John Madden, a small, warm British film about ordinary people trying to move forward when life keeps pulling them sideways. It holds 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from early reviews, with critics praising the lived-in performances above all…
- Avengers: Doomsday: Marvel's Biggest Bet Yet — Worth the Hype?
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in December from Marvel, directed by the Russo brothers, with Robert Downey Jr. returning as Doctor Doom in a multiverse story meant to close the saga. It opens the same day as Dune: Part Three and carries the future of the franchise on its shoulders after an uneven…
- Dune: Part Three: The December Showdown — Worth the Hype?
Dune: Part Three arrives in December from Warner Bros., directed by Denis Villeneuve, adapting Dune Messiah with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya returning as Paul Atreides faces the cost of power. It opens the same day as Avengers: Doomsday, closing a trilogy whose first two films earned ten Oscar…
- The Invite: A24's 96% Dinner-Party Comedy — Worth the Hype?
The Invite opened June 26, 2026, from A24, a dinner-party comedy built around a single evening where old friends, old resentments, and hidden secrets collide. It holds 96% on Rotten Tomatoes from nearly 300 reviews, one of the most acclaimed comedies of the year. Verdict: worth the hype…
- Pillion: A24's 99% Biker Romance — Worth the Hype?
Pillion opened February 6, 2026, from A24, directed by Harry Lighton, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling as a biker and the shy young man drawn into his world. It holds 99% on Rotten Tomatoes from more than 200 reviews, one of the best-reviewed films of 2026. Verdict: worth the hype —…
- Project Hail Mary: The $684M Space Hit Now on Prime Video — Worth the Hype?
Project Hail Mary opened March 20, 2026, from Amazon MGM, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, with Ryan Gosling as science teacher Ryland Grace, alone on a spaceship trying to save Earth. It holds 95% from critics and 95% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes with an A CinemaScore, opened to…
- Madden: Cage Plays the Coach America Loved — Worth the Hype?
Madden arrives in limited theaters November 11, 2026, from Amazon MGM, directed by David O. Russell, with Nicolas Cage as John Madden and Christian Bale as Raiders owner Al Davis. The film follows the coach and the owner whose partnership shaped the modern NFL, with early word praising Cage's…
- Christmas at the Kringles: The 0% Christmas Horror Comedy — Just Hype?
Christmas at the Kringles opened October 30, 2026, from Briarcliff Entertainment, directed by Kevin Lewis and starring Ron Livingston, Rachel Bilson, Rob Riggle, Thomas Lennon, and Donald Faison as a family facing Christmas-obsessed neighbors with sinister intentions. It debuted at 0% on Rotten…
- La Bola Negra: Spain's Oscar Hope and the $69K-Per-Screen Sensation — Worth the Hype?
La Bola Negra opened in four US theaters on October 16, 2026, from Netflix, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, telling the story of three men across 1932, 1937, and 2017 from a Federico Garcia Lorca fragment. It took $277,500 from those four screens, a $69,375 per-screen average second…
- Breeder: The 88% Horror Hit That Played to Empty Rooms — Worth the Hype?
Breeder opened October 28, 2026, from Independent Film Company and Shudder, written, edited, and directed by Alex Goyette, starring Dot-Marie Jones as an eccentric poodle breeder who lures a broke college student to her remote ranch. It holds around 88% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes but earned…
- The Mongoose: Neeson's Career-Worst Opening — Just Hype?
The Mongoose opened October 30, 2026, from Samuel Goldwyn Films, directed by Mark Vanselow and starring Liam Neeson as a war hero accused of a crime he did not commit, leading police on a cross-country car chase. It earned just $614,000 total against a $20 million budget, the worst wide-release…
- Everest: The Other Side: Free Solo's Directors Climb Again — Worth the Hype?
Everest: The Other Side opened October 30, 2026, from National Geographic, directed by Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, following ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson and their dream of skiing down Everest's North Face. It holds around 77% from critics and 87%…
- Forgotten Island: The 94% DreamWorks Gem Nobody Saw — Worth the Hype?
Forgotten Island opened September 25, 2026, from DreamWorks Animation, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, with H.E.R. and Liza Soberano voicing best friends stranded in the Filipino-folklore world of Nakali. It holds around 94% from critics and 95% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes with…
- Practical Magic 2: Critics 36%, Audiences 92% — Worth the Hype?
Practical Magic 2 opened September 10, 2026, from Warner Bros., directed by Susanne Bier, reuniting Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the Owens sisters. It opened to $30 million domestic on its way to about $68.6 million domestic and $106 million worldwide against a $75 million budget, with…
- One Battle After Another: The Best Picture Winner — Worth the Hype?
One Battle After Another opened September 26, 2025, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as washed-up revolutionary Bob Ferguson, earning $22.4 million domestic in its opening weekend on its way to about $213 million worldwide against a $130 million budget. It holds 94%…
- Sinners: The 97% Horror Record-Breaker — Worth the Hype?
Sinners arrived April 18, 2025, written and directed by Ryan Coogler, earning about $370 million worldwide against a $90 to $100 million budget. Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack opening a juke joint in 1932 Mississippi, with 97% from critics and 96% from audiences on Rotten…
- Bugonia: Lanthimos's Alien Kidnapping Satire — Worth the Hype?
Bugonia opened in limited theaters October 24, 2025, going wide on Halloween, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone as pharmaceutical CEO Michelle Fuller and Jesse Plemons as the conspiracy-obsessed kidnapper who believes she is an alien. It holds 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 72 on…
- The Running Man: Powell's $110M Flop — Just Hype?
The Running Man opened November 14, 2025, directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell as Ben Richards, a desperate father who enters a deadly televised survival game based on Stephen King's 1982 novel. It earned just $69.5 million worldwide against a reported $110 million budget, with around…
- Predator: Badlands: The Monster Becomes the Hero — Worth the Hype?
Predator: Badlands opened November 7, 2025, from 20th Century Studios, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, earning a franchise-record $40 million domestic and $80 million worldwide in its opening weekend on its way to more than $184 million globally. It holds 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 71 on Metacritic…
- Zootopia 2: The Biggest Animated Opening Ever — Worth the Hype?
Zootopia 2 arrived November 26, 2025, from Disney, earning $156 million domestic and $556 million worldwide over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, the biggest global opening ever for an animated film. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman return as Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, joined by Ke Huy Quan as…
- Wicked: For Good: The $226M Musical Sequel — Worth the Hype?
Wicked: For Good opened November 21, 2025, from Universal, directed by Jon M. Chu, earning $150 million domestic and $226 million worldwide in its opening weekend, the biggest global opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation. It holds about 70% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes against 88% for…
- BTS World Tour 'Arirang' in São Paulo: Live Viewing — Worth the Hype?
The live cinema broadcast of BTS's Arirang tour show in São Paulo opened October 30 in 1,010 US theaters and earned about $2.8 million over Halloween weekend, landing at number six domestically with $4.8 million worldwide. This review weighs the stadium-scale fan experience against its narrow…
- Klara and the Sun: Waititi vs. the Critics — Just Hype?
Klara and the Sun, Taika Waititi's adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel starring Jenna Ortega, opened October 23, 2026, to just $701,000 from 880 theaters after Sony cut its release from nearly 2,000 screens. It holds about 26% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics against roughly 74% from audiences…
- Disclosure Day: Spielberg's Box Office Disappointment Finds Streaming Redemption — Worth the Hype?
Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg's UFO thriller starring Emily Blunt, opened June 12, 2026, to $44 million domestic and finished its theatrical run at roughly $244-247 million worldwide against a $115 million budget. It holds a Certified Fresh 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, then found redemption on…
- Toy Story 5: Pixar's Billion-Dollar Fifth Chapter — Worth the Hype?
Toy Story 5, directed by Andrew Stanton, opened June 19, 2026, to a franchise-record $159.7 million domestic weekend and has earned roughly $1.149 billion worldwide, the most of any film in the franchise. It holds around 92% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 94% from audiences, and streams on…
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