San Diego Comic-Con almost always has a big draw for film enthusiasts, but this year is a bit different.
There’s no major “Star Wars” panel and Warner Bros. is absent this year with no DC Comics presentation. Universal Pictures, the studio behind the “Fast and the Furious” franchise among others, is also skipping.
However, there are still plenty of movie related event scheduled for the week, including a huge one Saturday dedicated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Here is the full slate according to Slash Film.
THURSDAY
- 10 a.m. (noon central) – The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art event. A new museum dedicated to George Lucas’ work is under construction. Behind the scenes of illustration, storyboards, props and more
- 11 a.m. (1 p.m. central) – Paramount Pictures will present a feature and panel discussion of “Terminator: Dark Fate” with new footage.
- 11:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. central) – Music Anatomy of a Superhero Film. Composers on the panel include Pinar Toprak of “Captain Marvel,” Benjamin Wallfisch of “Shazam!” and Michael Giacchino of “Spider-Man: Far From home.”
- 1 p.m. (3 p.m. central) – You’re Wrong, Leonard Maltin. Film Critic Leonard Maltin will have an open panel with attendees who can challenge him on his film ratings and reviews.
- 3 p.m. (5 p.m. central) – The 35th Anniversary of Ghostbusters celebration. Positive Pop Culture Founder Jessica Tseang will discuss the films with panelists.
- 3 p.m. (5 p.m. central) – The 40th Anniversary of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” celebration. Panelists will have a discussion on the original “Star Trek” film.
- 4:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m.) – Anime industry insider Kihara Hirokatsu will discuss his work on anime films, including at the legendary Studio Ghibli.
- 7:15 p.m. – The 40th Anniversary of “Alien.” Documentary Director Alexandre Philippe and a panel will discuss Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic. Philippe will also discuss his documentary “Memory: The Origins of Alien.”
FRIDAY
- 10 a.m. (noon central) – Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely will discuss the process of writing “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
- 11 a.m. (1 p.m. central) – Anthony and Joseph Russo will discuss their work in the Marvel Cinematic universe and how it wrapped up with “Avengers: Endgame.”
- 1 p.m. (3 p.m. central) – Director Chad Stahelski of the “John Wick” franchise and others will discuss what music is best for scenes and the process of how it’s added.
- 8 p.m. (10 p.m. central) – Composers Christopher Young, Michael Abels, Gregory Tripi, Russ Howard and Nick Soole will discuss how scores are created for horror pictures.
SATURDAY
- 4 p.m. (6 p.m. central) – “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” team Guillermo del Toro (Producer) and Andre Overdal (Director) will discuss creating the film.
- 5:15 p.m. (7:15 p.m. central) – The BIG one. Marvel Studios President and Producer Kevin Feige will discuss a nearly two hour panel on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.”
- 6:45 p.m. (8:45 p.m. central) – The 30th Anniversary of the 1989 “Batman” celebration with Executive Producer Michael Uslan.
- 10 p.m. (midnight central) – A world premiere and Q&A of “Shooting Clerks: The Kevin Smith Biopic.”
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At the weekend box office recently, it was the “Spider-Man” sequel earning the top spot again with another strong taking, grossing $45.3 million. Another sequel, “Toy Story 4,” also had a strong showing with $20.6 million.
The full top five was:
1. Spider-Man: Far From Home – $45,300,000
2. Toy Story 4 – $20,665,000
3. Crawl – $12,000,000
4. Stuber – $8,043,000
5. Yesterday – $6,750,000
For the upcoming weekend, meanwhile, the only wide release is “The Lion King” remake.
On the small screen, new films available include:
- Shazam!, my rating: 3.75 out of 5, Large Association of Movie Blogs rating: 3.62 out of 5, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 91%.
- Breakthrough, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 59%.
- Teen Spirit, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 72%.
- Little Woods, Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%.
Matthew Liedke on Film 