Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins dissect Oscar races, new releases, and Hollywood news.
The Big Picture is a brisk film conversation built around new releases, awards season, and the machinery behind movies. It moves from Dune trailer reactions to Oscar shorts skepticism, then lands on interviews with filmmakers who can talk craft in detail.
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The Big Picture is a film podcast produced by The Ringer, co-hosted by Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins. Episodes typically open with movie industry news, such as box office numbers, casting announcements, or streaming strategy shifts, before moving into extended reviews or previews of specific films. During awards season, the show runs dedicated episodes predicting winners across Academy Award categories, including international feature, documentary, original score, and original song. Outside of awards coverage, the hosts review new theatrical and streaming releases, ranging from studio titles like Project Hail Mary and Spider-Man: Brand New Day to festival films such as The Drama and Sentimental Value. The show also tracks franchise and animated-film trends, including critical takes on how video-game-derived pacing shapes children's animation. Film festival previews, including Cannes and SXSW, and occasional interview access, such as a planned Steven Spielberg conversation, also appear in the mix. The format is conversational and debate-driven between the two hosts rather than a structured single-guest interview, though the show draws on The Ringer's wider roster of colleagues. Each episode mixes specific title reviews, industry analysis, and prediction-driven awards coverage. The tone is analytical and opinionated, with hosts naming clear favorites and dismissing films they consider weak. The show suits listeners who follow both individual film releases and the broader business side of the film industry.
Made for: Film enthusiasts who want detailed Oscar-season predictions alongside weekly analysis of new releases and industry trends.
What sets it apart: Unlike single-focus review shows, it pairs category-by-category awards forecasting with weekly industry-news roundups and opinionated two-host film criticism.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review the movies you need to see. Plus: Top 5s, Movie Drafts, Oscars analysis, and more, featuring a rotating cast of Ringer colleagues like Chris Ryan, Van Lathan, and Bill Simmons.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Candid reviews, awards arguments, and filmmaker conversations connect movie reactions to the craft and industry choices behind them.
The Big Picture turns moviegoing into an ongoing argument, with Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins moving between reviews, industry news, awards forecasting, rankings, and conversations with filmmakers.
Oscar ballots become contact sports here, if your ideal movie night ends in an argument.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sharp Big Picture episode on The Drama, Super Mario Galaxy, and the movie twists that still start arguments.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Davin set up a knowingly odd Big Picture pairing: Christopher Borgli's The Drama, with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as an engaged couple rattled by a reveal, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, framed as its blunt opposite in audience and apparent…
A brisk, opinionated midyear movie check-in with sharp detours and a cinephile filmmaker interview.
The Big Picture checks in on the movie year so far, with Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbin naming favorites before turning to releases that slipped through the awards-season crush.
A smart, craft-minded Project Hail Mary episode with clear science talk and useful Lord-Miller production detail.
The Big Picture treats Project Hail Mary as a Ryan Gosling space saga with two selling points: big-screen wonder and unusually tangible craft.
A sharp final Oscar rundown that turns predictions into a lively argument about taste, odds, and category quirks.
The Big Picture treats its final Oscar forecast as more than a ballot check. Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins run through all 24 races for the 98th Academy Awards, separating who they think will win from who they would choose, and the show works best when that split turns into…
A lively Big Picture episode moves from Warner Bros. deal fallout to Scream 7 and Matt Johnson's comedy instincts.
The Big Picture opens on Paramount's apparent path to Warner Bros. after Netflix drops out, then swerves into a looser movie-chat hour about Ghostface, Canadian comedy, and what everyone is watching between bigger industry tremors.
A lively Oscar snubs draft where old Hollywood detours and awards grudges do most of the work.
The Big Picture treats Oscar snubs as draft-board combat, with Sean Fennessey, Amanda Dobbins, Chris Ryan, Joanna Robinson, and Katie Rich arguing over which Academy losses still sting.
Layered audio documentaries on hidden histories, with some episodes hosted by Frances McDormand.
BBC World Service panel show tracing the global history behind jewellery, robots, and education.
Journalists Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb riff on TV, books, and celebrity culture between themselves.
Abbi Jacobson tours specific MoMA artworks with curators and guests like RuPaul.
Tyler Green interviews artists and curators about specific artworks, one exhibition at a time.
MJ Dorian's solo deep dives trace genius through Blake, McQueen, da Vinci, and Jung's Red Book.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Davin review Christopher Borgli's The Drama (Zendaya, Robert Pattinson) and the Super Mario Galaxy movie on The Big Picture.
Sean and Amanda open with movie news, then work through favorite movies of the year so far and releases buried in the awards season rush.
This episode features an interview with legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg discussing his six-decade career, his new movie Disclosure Day, and topics like science fiction and the future of cinema.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins open The Big Picture with Oscar ratings, saying the broadcast was down 9% year over year to 17.86 million and noting the World Baseball Classic semifinal may have cut into the audience.
This episode discusses post-Oscar season reactions, answers listener questions about the awards and telecast, and covers recent movie news including the Dune Part 3 trailer.
This episode breaks down the 98th Academy Awards telecast, analyzing winners, speeches, and the overall award season.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins use The Big Picture’s final Oscar predictions episode to run through all 24 Academy Awards categories before the 98th Academy Awards.
Ghostface is back in 2026.
Oscar snubs turn into a contact sport.
This episode discusses two sexy and unusual movies, 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Pillion', exploring themes of love, desire, and relationships in a Valentine's Day context.
This episode features a conversation about the hosts' experience at the Directors Guild of America Awards Dinner, followed by discussions on Super Bowl trailers and an interview with the co-directors of K-Pop Demon Hunters.
The hosts announce and discuss the results of a listener poll where the winning choice is a 2008 movie swap between 'Mamma Mia!' and 'The Strangers'.
This episode discusses the underutilization of movie stars like Rachel McAdams and Chris Pratt in recent films, while also covering Sundance news including A24's acquisition of 'The Invite'.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review movies, discuss Hollywood trends, and analyze the film industry with a rotating cast of Ringer colleagues.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss the 2026 Academy Award nominations, focusing on the historic number of nominations for the film 'Sinners'.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss the new film The Rip starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and draft movies from their careers.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss upcoming episodes including a review of 28 Years Later and an interview with Mona Fastvold about her film The Testament of Anne Lee.
Two hosts discuss the 2026 Golden Globes ceremony, analyzing winners like 'One Battle After Another' and sharing their predictions and reactions.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss the number one movie in their 25 for 25 countdown, The Social Network, reflecting on its significance and their collective admiration.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins preview three 2025 wide releases and discuss the meta-action comedy Anaconda.
Amanda Dobbins and Sean Fennessey discuss the Paul Thomas Anderson film 'There Will Be Blood' as part of a countdown series.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss new movie releases, including Bradley Cooper's and James L.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash, Oscar predictions, and film industry news.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss upcoming films, including a documentary about Cameron Winter, and review movies from 2022.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss Golden Globe nominations and interview filmmaker Jafar Panahi about his new film.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss the film 25th Hour by Spike Lee as part of a special series.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds as part of their 25 for 25 series, recorded live at the Egyptian Theater.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss two new Richard Linklater films and the start of Oscar season.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss the film Lady Bird as part of a series on coming-of-age movies.
Sean Fennessey and Chris Ryan discuss the new Predator film Badlands and its box office performance.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and other film news.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss David Lynch's Mulholland Drive as part of a special series on 21st-century films.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins review the new film 'What's It' by Yorgos Lanthimos and update their monthly best picture power rankings.
Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins discuss Wong Kar-wai's film 'In the Mood for Love' as part of a series counting down top films.