'Obsession' and 'Backrooms' Are Destroying Our Assumptions About the Box Office

It's an incredibly interesting time at the U.S. box office right now. Backrooms, a movie directed by 20-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons based on his YouTube series (which itself was based on an anonymous 4chan post), is breaking records left and right. It generated over $81

Cannes 2026 Dispatch #3: The Palme d’Or-Winning 'Fjord' And Other Festival Highlights

Stephen David Miller wraps up his coverage of the Cannes Film Festival with reviews of Fjord, The Black Ball, The Beloved, and Orange-Flavoured Wedding, and a recap of the Closing Ceremony Hello again, Decoding Everything readers! I’m back again with the final installment of my 2026 Cannes Film

Cannes 2026 Dispatch #2: No, An AI-Generated Feature Film Did Not Premiere At Cannes (And Reviews Of Things That Did)

Stephen David Miller gives his second update from the Cannes film festival, including a brief detour into the new AI-generated movie Hell Grind and reviews of Her Private Hell, Hope, Minotaur, and Paper Tiger. Hello again, Decoding Everything! I’m back for another installment of my Cannes 2026 coverage,

Cannes 2026 Dispatch #1: Catching Up With New Films By Jane Schoenbrun, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Paweł Pawlikowski, and Hirokazu Koreeda

Stephen David Miller shares his take on the buzziest films of Cannes 2026.

‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Is More of a ‘Star Wars’-Shaped Object Than a Real Movie

The episodic ‘Star Wars’ show makes for a dull feature film.

'Mortal Kombat II' Is a Cautionary Tale About Being Too Faithful to the Video Game

David reviews the new 'Mortal Kombat' film

‘Michael’ Is a New Low for Music Biopics

Antoine Fuqua’s film makes the King of Pop into a blandly pleasant mascot.

'Lee Cronin's The Mummy' Was Gross and Upsetting (Complimentary)

David reviews 'Lee Cronin's The Mummy' and shares some brief thoughts on Steven Soderbergh's 'The Christophers.'

'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' Left Me Feeling Empty Inside

David Chen shares thoughts on the new 'Super Mario Galaxy' film.

This Year's Oscars Felt Like the End of an Era for Hollywood

Decoding Everything is a newsletter by David Chen. I’ve been a commentator on movies, TV, tech, and the media for over 15 years. You can support my work by subscribing to this newsletter, sharing about it on social media, or becoming a Patron. Thanks! The 98th Academy Awards were

‘Project Hail Mary’ Is a Gorgeous, Funny Ride Through the Cosmos

‘The LEGO Movie’ and ‘21 Jump Street’ directors have crafted a warm, inspiring tale based on Andy Weir’s novel.

'Scream 7' Is a Moral and Artistic Failure

Even at their worst, the Scream films have always at least tried to inject interesting ideas about fandom and horror culture into their storylines. That trend comes to an end with Scream 7.