Theaters

Taylor Swift has already conquered the music world and the concert business, so it’s no surprise that this weekend she reigned supreme over the box office — again.

Swift’s latest venture into theaters came in the form of a listening session/fan party of sorts for her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”

The 89-minute movie, titled “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” featured the premiere of the Swift-directed “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, as well as behind-the-scenes footage and commentary from Swift about the inspiration for her new songs.

As expected with anything Swift, the film quickly rocketed to the top of a weekend box office that didn’t have a lot of new big-name releases. The one-weekend-only affair hauled in $34 million in the U.S. and Canada, AMC said Monday morning. Globally, it made more than $50 million. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” was the runner-up in its second outing this weekend, grossing about $11 million domestically.

But the lack of competition doesn’t dilute the impact Swift had — and has had — on the box office. Her three-day theatrical total beats opening weekend grosses for other recent, studio films such as the Leonardo DiCaprio-led “One Battle After Another” ($22 million), 22-year sequel “Freakier Friday” reuniting Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis ($28.6 million) and my personal favorite, “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” ($18.1 million).

I may not be a Swiftie, but I know plenty who made their way to theaters this weekend, with some dressing up for the occasion. My colleague, Malia Mendez, wrote about the Taylormania that took over AMC Century City, which screened the Swift film 21 times over three screens, just on Saturday.

There’s something to be said about harnessing the power of a fan base to drive people to theaters. Look at Swift’s last theatrical appearance — 2023’s “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” made about $180 million domestically and brought in more than $261 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing concert film of all time.

As she did with the “Eras Tour” film, Swift bypassed the typical Hollywood system and worked directly with AMC Theatres Distribution to release “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” The film played at all of AMC’s 540 locations and also showed at other theaters such as Cinemark and Regal.

The unconventional release was welcome news for theaters, which have struggled to bring in crowds as they did before the pandemic

“On behalf of AMC Theatres and the entire theatrical exhibition industry, I extend our sincerest appreciation to the iconic Taylor Swift for bringing her brilliance and magic to movie theatres this weekend,” AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said in a statement. “Her vision to add a cinematic element to her incredible album debut was nothing less than a triumph.”

The film’s success is another reminder of the value of nontraditional, alternative content for theaters at a time when they need to employ fresh strategies to lure younger audiences to the multiplex.

As the number of movies released by studios has decreased, theaters are on the hunt for content to put on their screens. Lately, that’s ranged from episodic streaming series like “The Chosen,” which chronicles the life of Jesus, to concert films, opera performances and anniversary screenings of hits such as “The Sound of Music,” “Jaws” or “Back to the Future.”

It’s a business that really took off after the pandemic. Distributor Fathom Entertainment has specialized in this kind of nontraditional content for more than 20 years, but it is now seeing increased interest in these types of titles, particularly anniversary screenings, which now tend to make up between 20% and 40% of the company’s annual revenue.

Providing these kinds of titles is a way to mitigate the uncertainty of the film business, where there can be highs driven by hotly anticipated releases and lows when there’s little in the lineup.

“Our bread and butter is, and has continued to be, the big studio releases,” said Daniel Fastlicht, chief operating officer of the Lot, a luxury dine-in theater chain based in La Jolla with four locations. “What we want to see more than anybody is more content. But if that doesn’t happen, we still need to fill our auditoriums with people.”

All of the Lot’s theaters had at least one or two screens showing the Swift film, and the atmosphere was light, with people singing and dressing up, including a few in Travis Kelce jerseys, said Marcos Sayd, director of operations. He noted that alternative content helps their theaters fill the less-scheduled holes in their calendar. In addition to the Swift release, the Lot also programs local documentaries and films, as well as one-off events such as the Newport Beach Film Festival to draw audiences in.

And they’re not alone. Other theaters have been looking to position themselves as gathering places for communal experiences, whether that’s to celebrate T-Swift fandom, sing and dance to “KPop Demon Hunters” or collectively scream at a horror movie. Will the post-pandemic zeal for connection repopulate theaters again? Only time will tell, but the popularity of Swift’s latest film is a positive sign.

Stuff we wrote

Film shoots

Number of the week

Last week, YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit President Trump filed after his account was banned by the Google-owned streamer following the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.

San Bruno-based YouTube is the latest tech and media company to settle one of Trump’s lawsuits. Meta, Twitter (now X), Paramount Global and Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC News have all paid multimillion dollar sums in settlements. Most of the YouTube settlement dollars will go to Trump, who plans to contribute it to the Trust for the National Mall, which is “dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall” and will also fund construction of the White House State Ballroom, according to court documents.

Finally …

My colleagues, Matthew Ormseth and Summer Lin, wrote about how the strange case of an illicit casino-turned-marijuana stash house/psilocybin mushroom-growing location that eventually led police to find an Arcadia mansion filled with 15 children, most of whom were born to surrogates.

Only Taylor Swift could compel hundreds of Angelenos to spend their Saturday morning at a listening party film screening for an album they’ve already heard.

“The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” which hit theaters this weekend for a limited three-day run, features the debut of the Swift-directed “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, behind-the-scenes footage and notes from Swift about the inspiration for each of the songs on her new record, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The 89-minute companion film opened to an estimated $15.8 million on Friday and is projected to gross more than $30 million over the weekend.

The box office success comes as no surprise, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” brought in $96 million in 2023 in its first four days in theaters and became the highest-grossing concert film of all time. Hitting 21 countries in 21 months, the Eras Tour itself earned more than $2 billion in revenue, the first music tour to ever hit that milestone.

Even as “Showgirl” seems destined to become Swift’s most divisive album yet — with critics and fans alike split in their reactions — the Taylormania was palpable Saturday morning at AMC Century City, which that day screened “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” 21 times across three screens.

Madison Story, 34, made sure to catch the film at the luxury Dolby Cinema, calling “Showgirl” Swift’s “most cinematic album yet.”

“When I was listening to it, I just pictured Nora Ephron movies,” Story said. In true rom-com fashion, the longtime Swiftie wore a Lover cardigan. Others sported various Swift tour merch, sequined scarves and showgirl-inspired attire.

Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is advertised outside of AMC Century City 15, which is screening “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

As theatergoers took their seats during the prelude to the show, Swift’s “Reputation” opener “Ready for It?” played over a slideshow of “Showgirl” promo photos. At 10 a.m. on the dot, the screen went dark, then switched to an Eras Tour-style countdown clock — set to 12 seconds, for Swift’s 12th studio album (which, naturally, also features 12 songs).

When Swift finally graced the screen to introduce the program, audience members were mesmerized. Hardly anyone made a peep.

“I’m Taylor, the official hypothetical showgirl in question,” Swift said, telling the crowd that in making the movie that’s not quite a movie, she was, as always, “trying to surprise you guys.”

“I hope you guys have a blast. I hope you sing along,” she said.

Despite Swift’s invitation, and the help of lyric displays for each “Showgirl” track, the crowd was surprisingly quiet throughout the screening aside from a few rounds of applause and occasional laughter at Swift’s trademark awkward-girl charisma. (“My bread is actually a music video star!” was a crowd-pleaser.)

“I feel like her quirkiness has been the same since she did [her] debut [album], and it’s neat to see that that has lasted through all the different iterations and eras,” said moviegoer Kelley Sheets, 30.

Sheets and her friends Sarah Borland, 29, and Ariana Diaz, 30, were taken aback by the quiet atmosphere in the auditorium, especially compared to “The Eras Tour” movie.” They suspected the album might be too fresh for people to feel comfortable singing and dancing along.

Attendees’ low energy may have also been a symptom of the morning showtime. Still, their delight was clear from their wide smiles and intermittent head bobbing, most pronounced during the ear-catching “Opalite” chorus.

As expected, some of Swift’s more questionable lyrics — many of which were exponentially funnier as clean versions — garnered some chuckles, and “Actually Romantic,” an alleged Charli XCX diss track, notably concluded without applause. But claps were generous for Swift’s closer, which saw the artist sincerely thanking her fans for being her muse.

“This album was completely inspired by the most incredible time of my life that was so exciting, because you made the Eras Tour what it was,” Swift said.

“The way that that tour felt, the way that it just kind of lit up my whole life, was such a through line of making this music,” she said. “So thank you for being that unknowing inspiration behind the scenes. I was internalizing all of that love and putting it into that record.”

During Swift’s album rollouts more than a decade ago, she hosted listening parties she dubbed “secret sessions.” At these intimate gatherings, the singer gave select fans a sneak peek at her new music, explaining the inspiration for each track and even playing some songs live.

Nick Eittreim, 28, was always jealous of the fans who got to attend those parties. With “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” he said, “It’s like I’m finally invited to that ‘secret session.’”

Rachel Birnam, 30, said while the “secret sessions” were “such a special thing, it’s nice that this is accessible to everybody.”

Taylor Swift fans Nick Eittreim and Melissa Roberts, both 28, arrive for “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” at AMC Century City 15 on Saturday.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Anthony Cendejas, a manager at AMC Century City, said the theater has been noticeably busier with the release of “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.”

“More people than usual are dressing up,” Cendejas said, adding that many theatergoers have followed up their AMC visits with a stop at “The Life of a Showgirl” TikTok fan activation, running until Oct. 9 in the Westfield Century City Atrium. The immersive experience allows visitors to take photos and videos on a series of sets replicating those in “The Fate of Ophelia” music video.

Jamie Phillips and her daughters Rowan, 11, and Finley, 12, visited the TikTok activation Saturday afternoon. The trio also brought the biggest Swiftie in their family, their Saint Bernard named Lincoln, along with them. In their family photos, Lincoln wore a feather boa to match Rowan and Finley’s.

Jamie Phillips, left, takes a photo of her daughters Finley, 12, center, and Rowan, 11, with their dog Lincoln at a TikTok fan activation for Taylor Swift’s new album.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

When the Phillips family heard “The Life of a Showgirl” for the first time, Jamie Phillips said, “All of us were pleasantly surprised.”

“Usually it takes me, particularly with her albums, a lot of listens to be like, ‘OK, it’s OK,’” she said. But this one they loved on the first go-around.

The trio hadn’t yet made it to “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” but they hoped to squeeze it in Sunday along with a “Gilmore Girls” anniversary event at the Grove.

In the meantime, they couldn’t wait to get back home, where their “Showgirl” merch was waiting for them.

Ahead of a 50th anniversary screening of “Jaws” this month at the AMC Theatres in Century City, even the trailers were nostalgic.

Moviegoers saw previews of Marty McFly taking flight in a DeLorean in 1985’s “Back to the Future,” the Von Trapp family sharing a musical picnic in the Austrian hills in 1965’s “The Sound of Music” and Tom Hanks launching into space in 1995’s “Apollo 13.”

And those are just a few of the movies that are returning to theaters this year to celebrate landmark anniversaries.

The box office shows there’s a demand to be met, as many classic titles outearn various new releases during opening weekends.

Over Labor Day weekend, “Jaws” came in as the second-highest-grossing movie with a domestic opening of $8.2 million, behind Zach Cregger’s horror hit “Weapons.” Steven Spielberg’s breakout blockbuster was shown in 3,200 theaters and made around $15 million worldwide. Earlier this year, the 20th anniversary screening of “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” also ranked second with $25 million for its opening weekend, under Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” It raked in about $55 million worldwide, bringing the title’s total gross box office to more than $900 million.

It’s almost as if movie studios, filmgoers and theater owners alike are pining for a time when the movie business, now struggling more than five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, was the center of popular culture in the U.S. Before social media and Netflix dominated people’s attention.

David Berger, who owns the Ojai Playhouse, a 111-year-old theater with one screen and 200 seats, finds that when studios come to him with a digitally restored classic, he’ll probably see strong attendance. On Sept. 10, he played a 40th anniversary screening of “The Breakfast Club” and sold 125 tickets.

“It’s about getting away from streaming and taking a break from your phone and the world — really just letting the magic of movies do its thing,” Berger said. “So, we book a lot of nostalgic repertory anniversary films, and they do really well. Sales overall are really up.”

Studio executives and moviegoers offer competing theories about why older titles are getting traction on the big screen. Some see it as an anniversary year coincidence. Others look at it as a way to cushion theaters’ thin movie slates, which have not recovered from the pandemic. Some think it’s a way to keep movie theaters in business, as these screenings tend to happen in the middle of the week and help maintain steady crowds.

By the end of 2025, there will have been roughly 100 anniversary and re-release showings brought to screens around the country, according to Comscore. In 2019, Comscore shows that there were a little over 60 re-release and anniversary screenings.

Before the pandemic, most such screenings were for one or two days and were hosted by specialized distributors, such as Fathom Entertainment. Re-releases and anniversaries weren’t often screened as traditional releases from major studios. That’s been changing ever since.

Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, says audiences should expect an uptick of re-releases whenever a year ends with a 0 or a 5.

Titles with loyal fanbases, like 2005’s “Pride & Prejudice” ($6 million), 1990’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” ($4 million) and 1975’s “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” ($1.1 million) have capitalized on this market. These films didn’t have a chance to celebrate in 2020, when theaters were closed because of COVID-19.

The rising interest has boosted the business of Fathom, which for more than 20 years has specialized in bringing oldies back to theaters, as well as various documentaries, performing arts shows and faith-based content. Chief Executive Ray Nutt has also noted an increased interest in the area. Anniversary showings of these “classics” tend to make up between 20% and 40% of Fathom’s annual revenue, equating to $20 million or more.

“I’m proud to say that over the last two years, we’ve increased our revenue by 45% and 48% respectively,” said Nutt. “We’ve had record-breaking years, and classics have been a really important part of that.”

Fathom and Lionsgate are gearing up for the return of the “Twilight” saga to theaters for its 20th anniversary. All five films, along with roundtable footage with author Stephenie Meyer, will be screening around the country from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2. Kevin Grayson, Lionsgate’s head of distribution, said the series is slated to screen in about 1,000 theaters. But with strong presales, he said the footprint will probably expand to 1,500 to 2,000 locations.

“‘Twilight’ has been out for a long time,” Grayson said. “But after seeing the significant ticket sales it has already brought in, you can tell people want that communal experience.”

Executives say these showing are good for business and come with little downside.

Studios can dust off a movie they already own and create hype through marketing. The screenings may appeal to fans who may have never seen the movie on the big screen before. While they’re not as profitable as a massive new blockbuster, the additional revenue makes them worth the effort.

“We make a real business out of [these screenings] every single year,” said Jim Orr, Universal Pictures’ president of domestic theatrical distribution. “Everyone understands that the best way to experience a movie is truly on the big screen.”

Even with re-releases, franchises come out on top.

Disney had a 30th anniversary screening of “Toy Story” over the weekend, ahead of the new “Toy Story 5” hitting theaters next year. The studio is also presenting a re-release of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” a few months before the newest installment, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” arrives in December.

“It’s expensive to market a movie on a global basis,” said Andrew Cripps, Disney’s theatrical distribution head. “When you’ve got an established franchise and you’re building on something that’s had an audience in the past, it’s a lot easier to build your campaign on top of that, rather than starting from scratch.”

Last year, there were indicators that demonstrated the audience’s growing demand to see older movies on the big screen. “Interstellar” earned $15.2 million for its Imax re-entry, and “Coraline” achieved $34 million to commemorate its 15th anniversary.

Many moviegoers attending an evening screening of “Jaws” said they wanted to see the movie “the way it was intended,” embracing the communal experience of fear and laughter in the theater.

“I haven’t seen ‘Jaws’ in years, and seeing it on the big screen felt ceremonial in a way,” said Culver City-based Ella Paseua, a recent subscriber to AMC’s Stubs A-List subcription program. “I could watch it at home. But these anniversary screenings are meant for the community. People were applauding when the shark was caught. You don’t get that at home.”

It’s time to revisit the age-old question that’s been debated for years: Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Lionsgate will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the “Twilight” novels by bringing the entire film saga back to the big screen from Oct. 29 through Nov. 2, The Times confirmed.

The love triangle tale starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner — a human, a vampire and a werewolf, respectively — grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide during its first run, according to Box Office Mojo.

The films, based on the four-part book series written by Stephenie Meyer, follow the story of Bella Swan (Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Pattinson). Their relationship is tested by Edward’s instinct to harm her and by Bella’s friend Jacob Black (Lautner), who belongs to a rival werewolf clan.

There are five films in the series: “Twilight” (2008); “New Moon” (2009); “Eclipse” (2010); “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” (2011); and “Breaking Dawn — Part 2” (2012). Round-table chats with Meyer, producer Wyck Godfrey, former co-president of Lionsgate Gillian Bohrer and others will accompany each film.

As part of the festivities, Meyers is scheduled to be the honored guest at this year’s Forever Twilight in Forks Festival, an annual celebration in Forks, Wash., the setting of the book series. The fest will take place Sept. 11-14.

The films have remained in pop culture through TikTok trends where fans announce their “gay awakening” using scenes of Bella. Stewart, who came out as queer and married screenwriter Dylan Meyer in April, said the films are “gay” during an interview with Variety in January.

“It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love,” the actor said.

Stewart starred in last year’s romantic thriller “Love Lies Bleeding” (2024) and will next appear in her wife’s directorial debut, “The Wrong Girls,” which is written by the couple.

Pattinson played the titular character in 2022’s “The Batman.” He last appeared in Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi comedy “Mickey 17” (2025) and will appear later this year in Lynne Ramsay’s psychological dramedy “Die, My Love.”

Lautner took a few acting jobs after the end of the saga, in films such as “Grown Ups 2” (2013) and “The Ridiculous 6” (2015), but his most recent credit was in Netflix’s “Home Team” (2022).

The hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” is making its way to the big screen on Sept. 5.

Lin-Manuel Miranda announced the theatrical release date for the Tony Award-winning musical Tuesday night during an interview on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

“We always wanted to release it theatrically, but then the pandemic hit and so we decided to release it on streaming, so that everyone could see it at home whenever they wanted,” Miranda said on the show. “[Soon] you will be able to see ‘Hamilton’ in movie theaters nationwide and in Puerto Rico.”

The show’s cinematic release marks a major milestone: It’s been nearly 10 years since the off-Broadway premiere of “Hamilton,” which was based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father of the United States. Created by Miranda, who also composed the music, lyrics and book, the hip-hop- and R&B-inflected musical used source material from “Alexander Hamilton,” a 2004 biography written by Ron Chernow. The musical went on to win 11 Tony Awards, including best musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2016.

The film was shot in June 2016, during a live performance at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, and features much of the original cast. This includes Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.

The film was originally slated for release in movie theaters in October 2021. Disney paid $75 million for worldwide movie rights in 2020 and released it later that year exclusively on its streaming platform; the film went on to win two Emmy Awards in 2021.

The “Hamilton” anniversary is being celebrated in more ways than one. Prior to Miranda’s “Tonight Show” interview, Madame Tussauds New York unveiled a wax figure of Miranda dressed as Alexander Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Two special performances of the hit musical will also take place at the same theater today. Every actor who has performed on the Broadway musical since its opening has been invited, according to the Associated Press.

Attendees for the matinee were already selected via a lottery process and the evening performance is an invite-only fundraiser for the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition — a host of 14 immigrant service organizations that uplift immigrant communities across the country.

Tickets for the film are now available for purchase.

July 6 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1854, the Republican Party was formally established at a meeting in New York City.

In 1885, French bacteriologist Louis Pasteur inoculated a human being for rabies for the first time — a boy, who had been bitten by a dog. The youngster didn’t develop rabies.

In 1919, a British dirigible landed at New York’s Roosevelt Field to complete the first airship crossing of the Atlantic. Six hours into the flight, the R-34’s commander discovered a stowaway.

In 1923, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed.

In 1942, diarist Anne Frank and her family took refuge in a secret section of an Amsterdam warehouse where they hid from the Nazis for two years. Finally discovered, they were sent to concentration camps. Anne died in a camp.

In 1944, a fire in the big top of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn., killed 167 people, two-thirds of them children, and injured 682 others.

In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first African-American competitor to win a Wimbledon championship.

In 1971, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, one of the 20th century’s most influential American musicians, died at age 69.

Music legend Louis Armstrong entertains his wife, Lillian, in front of the Sphinx during a trip to Egypt in 1961. Photo by UPI

In 1976, women were first admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy. The other military academies soon followed suit.

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, in a TV interview, said it was a “probability” that many young people now paying into Social Security “will never be able to receive as much as they’re paying.”

In 1994, Forrest Gump opened in U.S. theaters, earning actor Tom Hanks his second Oscar for Best Actor.

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama met in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, and announced an agreement to reduce nuclear arsenals.

In 2013, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 carrying more than 300 people hit a sea wall in front of a runway on approach at San Francisco International Airport — a crash that resulted in three fatalities and scores of injuries.

In 2021, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Mary Simon would be the country’s first Indigenous governor general.

The original “Spider-Man” trilogy, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire, is returning to the big screen with a special addition.

For the first time, “Spider-Man 2.1” — the extended edition of “Spider Man 2” — will be playing in theaters in 4K in a limited engagement presented by Fathom Entertainment. This version, released on DVD in 2007, features eight minutes of new footage, including a fan-favorite scene in which J. Jonah Jameson, played by J.K. Simmons, tries on the Spidey suit.

More than two decades and 10 Spider-Man movies after the original trilogy premiered, “Spider-Man 2” consistently ranks among the best of the franchise by critics and fans. Starring alongside Maguire as Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man) are Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane “MJ” Watson, James Franco as Harry Osborn and Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius.

“The success of ‘Spider-Man’ in 2002 helped launch the modern era of super hero films. To this day, Tobey Maguire’s take on Spider-Man resonates across generations,” Fathom Entertainment’s Chief Executive Ray Nutt said in a press release. “At Fathom Entertainment, we celebrate fandom and I am delighted that ‘Spider-Man 2.1’ in 4K will make its theatrical debut, a true gift for longtime fans and a thrilling discovery for new ones.”

“Spider-Man” will play in theaters Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, “Spider-Man 2.1” on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, and “Spider-Man 3” on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5. Tickets will be available at Fathom Entertainment and participating theaters July 25.

Other films soon returning to theaters with Fathom Entertainment are “Clueless” (June 29-30), “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (July 13-16) and “The Sound of Music” (Sept. 13-17).

Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

Among this week’s new releases is “28 Years Later,” the third film in the series that dates back to 2002’s “28 Days Later.” The new project reunites the core creative team from the first movie: director Danny Boyle, screenwriter Alex Garland, cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and producer Andrew Macdonald.

This time out the “rage” virus that turns people into crazed cannibal monsters has been isolated to the U.K., which has been quarantined from the rest of the world. A small community of uninfected survivors live on a coastal island and make their way to the mainland to hunt and for supplies. A teenage boy (Alfie Williams), having made one expedition with his father (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), goes back with his ailing mother (Jodie Comer) in search of a doctor (Ralph Fiennes) rumored to be able to help them.

In her review of the film, Amy Nicholson wrote that it “has a dull central plot beefed up by unusual ambition, quirky side characters and maniacal editing. It’s a kooky spectacle, a movie that aggressively cuts from moments of philosophy to violence, from pathos to comedy. Tonally, it’s an ungainly creature. From scene to scene, it lurches like the brain doesn’t know what the body is doing. Garland and Boyle don’t want the audience to know either, at least not yet.”

Screenwriter Alex Garland, left, director Danny Boyle and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, photographed in London in June.

(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)

“28 Years Later” is the first film in a planned trilogy, with the second film, directed by Nia DaCosta, having already been shot.

I spoke with Boyle, Garland, Mantle and Macdonald for a feature story that will be in print on Sunday. Whereas the original “28 Days Later” was notable for its use of consumer-grade digital video cameras, this time the production used modified iPhones to capture most of its imagery. The result is a fresh and distinctive look with both a sense of immediacy and an unexpected beauty.

“What was great about the script is that although you were inheriting some DNA from the original film, it was a completely original story,” said Boyle. “And deserved to be treated like that.”

Cinématographe heads to L.A. theaters

Norm Macdonald, left, and Artie Lange in the 1998 movie “Dirty Work,” recently restored to an extended “Dirtier Cut.”

(Jack Rowand / MGM)

This week the boutique home video label Cinématographe is participating in screenings all over town, further cementing the evolving relationship between physical media and the local revival scene.

Curated and produced by Justin LaLiberty as an offshoot of the Vinegar Syndrome label, Cinématographe is among a handful of companies that create releases meant to look as nice on your shelf as they do onscreen. With beautiful restorations presenting the titles as optimally as possible, the releases come with many extras highlighting their production and what makes them special, alongside new critical essays on the films. Among the titles released by the company so far are John Dahl’s “Red Rock West,” Paul Schrader’s “Touch,” Robert Altman’s “Thieves Like Us” and Martha Coolidge’s “Joy of Sex.”

“Cinématographe has a very specific kind of curatorial approach,” said LaLiberty in a Zoom call this week from his home in Connecticut. “And it also has a mission in that it’s trying to shine a light on these movies that have fallen into obscurity for one reason or another.”

Working in conjunction with the local screening collective Hollywood Entertainment in pulling together some of the local events, LaLiberty got a sense of the current repertory scene in L.A. and hopes that putting on Cinématographe screenings here is something that can become a regular occurrence.

“What I like about L.A.’s cinema scene, without being there, is seeing how the spaces cater to different audiences,” said LaLiberty. “It happens in New York to an extent too, but I’ve noticed it a lot more with L.A. where I think just by virtue of geography, those theaters have to build a community that’s a lot more specific to whatever their mission may be or whatever audience they’re trying to cultivate is. So that’s what I tried to do with these screenings is kind of hone in on what demographic those spaces are going to reach and what film made the most sense for each one.”

The cover art for the Cinématographe home video release of Jim McBride’s 1983 remake of “Breathless.”

(Cinématographe)

On Sunday at Brain Dead Studios there will be a restored 4K screening of the exuberant 1983 remake of “Breathless” with director Jim McBride in person. That will be followed by the Los Angeles premiere of the 4K restoration of Bob Saget’s 1998 comedy “Dirty Work,” starring Norm MacDonald, in its newly created “Dirtier Cut,” which restores the film to a version screened for test audiences before it was chopped down to earn a PG-13 rating. Co-writer Frank Sebastiano will be in attendance.

On Monday, LaLiberty will be at a pop-up at the Highland Park video store Vidéotheque, selling discs from Cinématographe, Vinegar Syndrome and affiliated titles from OCN Distribution — including some that are out of print. (Discs will be on sale at all the events too.)

On Tuesday at Whammy Analog Media, 1994’s essential lesbian rom-com “Go Fish” will show in a 4K restoration with director and co-writer Rose Troche in person. On Wednesday, there will be a 45th anniversary screening at Vidiots of the 4K restoration of Ronald F. Maxwell’s 1980 “Little Darlings,” starring Tatum O’Neal and Kristy McNichol as two teenage girls having a private competition at summer camp to lose their virginity.

On Thursday, in conjunction with Cinematic Void, the Los Feliz 3 will host a showing of John Badham’s 1994 action-thriller “Drop Zone” starring Wesley Snipes, with the director in person.

And while it may seem counterintuitive for a home video label to be encouraging people to go see movies in theaters, for LaLiberty the two go hand in hand.

“My ultimate mission is for these films to find an audience,” LaLiberty said. “‘Little Darlings’ is one of those movies that was out of circulation for so long that now that it’s back and people can find it — to me that’s the work. The end goal is that these films are brought back and that they’re available for people to see and talk about and share. Theaters can play them and have them look great. I don’t see it as cannibalizing. I see it as just being a part of the job.”

‘Rebels of the Neon Millennium’

Shu Qi in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s 2001 film “Millennium Mambo.”

(Kino Lorber)

The American Cinematheque is launching a series looking at films from Southeast Asia made around the turn of the 21st century and shot through with the energy of specific Y2K anxieties. These were films that felt cutting-edge and of the moment when they were released, but now perhaps function at least in part as memory pieces of their time and place. This is a sharp, smartly put-together series that contextualizes a group of films and filmmakers.

Kicking off with Wong Kar-wai’s 1995 “Fallen Angels,” the series also includes Hou Hsiao-hsien’s 2001 “Millennium Mambo,” Tsai Ming-liang’s 1992 “Rebels of the Neon God,” Fruit Chan’s 1997 “Made in Hong Kong,” Shunji Iwai’s 2001 “All About Lily Chou-Chou” Jia Zhangke’s 2002 “Unknown Pleasures” and Lou Ye’s 2000 “Suzhou River.”

Writing about “Fallen Angels” in 1998, Kevin Thomas called it “an exhilarating rush of a movie, with all manner of go-for-broke visual bravura that expresses perfectly the free spirits of his bold young people. … Indeed, ‘Fallen Angels’ celebrates youth, individuality and daring in a ruthless environment that is wholly man-made, a literal underworld similar to the workers’ realm of ‘Metropolis’ — only considerably less spacious. Life proceeds at a corrosive rock music beat.”

Points of interest

‘Dogtooth’ in 4K

An image from Yorgos Lanthimos’ movie “Dogtooth.”

(Kino Lorber)

Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’ second feature, “Dogtooth,” was his international breakthrough, winner of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and nominated for an Oscar. Yet even its most ardent admirers at the time would likely never have imagined Lanthimos would become the maker of commercially successful, Oscar-winning (and still weird) films such as “The Favourite” and “Poor Things.”

A new 4K restoration of “Dogtooth” will screen at the American Cinematheque at the Los Feliz 3 on Saturday, Tuesday and Sunday the 29th. The story feels abstracted and fractured, as a family lives in comfortable isolation, creating their own rules and language as the parents attempt to keep their children, now young adults, in a state of arrested development.

When it was first being released, “Dogtooth” struggled to find screens in Los Angeles. In my January 2011 review, I referred to it as “part enigma, part allegory and even part sci-fi in its creation of a completely alternate reality.”

When the film had its local premiere as part of the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival some seven months earlier, I spoke to Lanthimos, who perhaps pointed the way to some of his future work when he said, “It’s much more important to me for the audience to be engaged and to think about things themselves. If they miss any information, I’m OK with that instead of explaining every little detail and telling everyone what they should be thinking and how exactly things are.”

Lanthimos added, “People ask me if the film is about home-schooling or if it’s political, about totalitarian states or the information we get from the media. And of course all those things were not in our minds as we were making the film, but it was intentional to make the film so people can come in and have their own thoughts about it.”

‘The Seven Year Itch’ 70th anniversary

Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell re-create a scene from 1955’s “The Seven Year Itch” on the Fox Studio Lot on Stage 9.

(Twentieth Century Fox)

On Wednesday the Laemmle Royal will present a 70th anniversary screening of Billy Wilder’s “The Seven Year Itch” introduced by film writers Stephen Farber and Michael McClellan. Starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, “Itch” was written by Wilder and George Axelrod, an adaptation of the hit Broadway play that also starred Ewell.

Though the movie does include the iconic scene of Monroe standing over a subway grate, it deserves to be remembered for much more than that. It’s a bracing satire of midcentury masculinity, with Ewell playing a mild-mannered family man who lets himself be taken away by fantasies of what may happen while he is on his own for a summer with a young single woman living upstairs from his New York apartment.

Writing about the movie in June 1955, Edwin Schallert said, “This picture is nothing for the moralists, though it may not quite satisfy the immoralists either, whoever they are.”

In other news

Tom Cruise, Dolly Parton among honorary Oscar recipients

Tom Cruise and Dolly Parton will be honored at the upcoming Governors Awards.

(Evan Agostini / Invision / Charlie Riedel / AP)

This week the motion picture academy announced four honorees for the Governors Awards in November. Dolly Parton will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, while honorary Oscars will go to actor, dancer, choreographer and director Debbie Allen, production designer Wynn Thomas and actor and producer Tom Cruise.

As always, it must be noted how disappointing it is that these awards will be bestowed at an untelevised ceremony and not as part of the Academy Awards telecast itself. The idea of giving an award to Tom Cruise, who has recently refashioned himself as nothing less than an international ambassador for movies and Hollywood in general, and not putting it on TV is just beyond reason.

Here is hoping that Cruise will perhaps be able to do what his co-star in “The Color of Money” Paul Newman once did, which is win a competitive Oscar after already being given an honorary one.