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AFI Fest, presented by Canva (with water sponsor Fiji), will take place Oct. 22–26 at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatres. It will feature more than 160 films, including seven red carpet premieres, 12 special screenings, 20 world cinema selections, 15 documentaries, six after dark titles, 23 films from the AFI Conservatory Showcase, 14 luminaries selections, and a robust short films competition. As announced, Guillermo del Toro is confirmed as the guest artistic director. The fest will open with Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere starring Jeremy Allen White as the iconic rocker. Other high-profile premieres include Song Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. "With more than 90 features and nearly 70 shorts, AFI Fest 2025 will be our biggest program in recent memory," said AFI Fest director Todd Hitchcock. "But more importantly, this year's selection reflects a diversity of viewpoints, artistry and daring from filmmakers across the globe."...

An interactive anime film has rewritten the rules of limited theatrical releases in Japan, with "Hypnosis Mic – Division Rap Battle" earning JPY2.5 billion ($16.5 million) despite averaging fewer than 60 screens throughout its run — making it the first Japanese film to reach this revenue milestone on such a narrow release. The film, part of the "Hypnosismic" franchise, was developed at King Records in 2017 and involves a world where weapons have been banned and men must fight for supremacy through rap battles. The "Hypnosismic" universe has already diversified into music, radio dramas, manga, stage productions, games and anime series. The film, one of Japan's first interactive movies, involves a new rap battle. The story and the winner of the contest, known as the Third Division Rap Battle, vary at each different screening, with the outcomes driven by real-time polling of the audience members using their smartphones. The CtrlMovie system, developed by Kino Industries since its 2018 founding, enables collective audience decision-making that branches narratives seamlessly during screenings, with each show producing a unique experience based on viewer input. Multiple English-language productions using the technology are now underway as the company accelerates its expansion plans. "CtrlMovie is doing for story what Imax did for scale," says Scott C. Silver, COO of Kino Industries. "It delivers a premium, participatory experience that connects audiences more deeply to what's happening on screen — and while we're starting in theaters, the same technology is built to extend seamlessly into home and gaming environments, creating an ecosystem where every screen can be interactive."..

TA Bela Lugosi biopic is in development from Leonardo DiCaprio. The Hungarian actor is best known for being the first actor to bring the iconic character of Count Dracula to life in the classic 1931 Universal monster movie, Dracula. The screenplay comes from Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the writers behind Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994), which follows the titular filmmaker's friendship with Bela Lugosi near the end of his life, with Martin Landau earning an Academy Award for playing him. Unlike Ed Wood, the upcoming film will follow a young Bela Lugosi, following his rapid ascent to fame as one of cinema's most iconic figures. It will trace his journey from emigrating from Hungary to achieving stardom through his portrayal of Dracula on Broadway and in Hollywood, and later, his dramatic decline after turning down the role of Frankenstein, a role that ultimately made his future rival Boris Karloff a star....

With the rise of streaming and the erosion of theatrical exclusivity windows, there just isn't the same incentive to see things in cinemas – and the industry in general is grappling with the variety of things now vying for people's attention, from live events to video games to YouTube videos. Over recent years, the number of adults going to theaters to watch new releases has fallen dramatically. Additionally, many of Hollywood's most reliable movie franchises are reaching the point where audiences are losing interest - and we're not seeing enough new franchises coming to replace them. The future of cinema has to be somewhere else. That somewhere else – perhaps surprisingly – is video game adaptations.Younger audiences are still making the most of the theatrical experience. As we saw with A Minecraft Movie earlier this year, kids movies aren't just movies. They're catchy songs, viral moments, and ultimately, memes. This was all woven into A Minecraft Movie's marketing, and it was an immense success. One of the biggest drawbacks of the video game movie subgenre is that they're never as good as the games themselves. So why would older audiences go and see another underwhelming Resident Evil movie when they can just play the games at home? But with children's movies, it's not always about the quality, but the experience. It's easy to look at things like the "sing-along meme-along" Minecraft Movie screenings with a cynical eye, but ultimately, it's this connection to movies as something communal and interactive that keeps audiences coming back for more. The more movies aimed at them they attend, the more they come to love the theatrical experience....