Screen Wrap · Sunday 18 October 2026
Sergei Loznitsa’s Imperium takes the top prize as the BFI London Film Festival wraps. Tonight’s Screen Wrap also has the final US opening for You Can See Everything, John Wilson’s Harry Styles tour documentary, Anya Taylor-Joy filming Netflix’s How to Kill Your Family in London, TikTok’s ban on ads for Alex Gibney’s Musk, and more from the weekend.
The News That Matters
Sergei Loznitsa’s Imperium wins best film at the London Film Festival
- Winner: Best film, Official Competition — 70th BFI London Film Festival
- Director: Sergei Loznitsa
- Jury: Led by documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard
- Also awarded: 9 Temples to Heaven (Sutherland Award); Concrete Land (Grierson Award); Aman (Short Film Award)
- Closing night: Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut
- UK availability: The short Aman is streaming free on BFI Player for a limited time. UK release dates for Imperium, 9 Temples to Heaven and Concrete Land are not yet confirmed
The 70th BFI London Film Festival has its big winner. Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa’s Imperium, which revisits the Soviet Union of the early 1970s through footage shot by Italian cameramen, took best film in the Official Competition as the festival wrapped on Sunday. Sam Pollard’s jury called it “richly evocative and emotionally engaging on all levels”.
Thailand’s Oscar submission 9 Temples to Heaven, the first fiction feature from Sompot Chidgasornpongse, won the Sutherland Award for best first feature. Asmahan Bkerat’s Concrete Land took the Grierson Award for documentary, and Rahul Roye’s Aman won the Short Film Award. The festival closes tonight with Jesse Eisenberg’s The Debut, a day after yesterday’s evening edition flagged I Play Rocky as the surprise film.
Update: You Can See Everything finishes its US opening at $15 million
- New development: Final opening-weekend figure, up from Saturday’s estimate
- US opening: $15 million from 855 screens
- Context: Second-best opening ever for a non-music documentary, behind Fahrenheit 9/11 ($23.9 million in 2004); biggest documentary opening in 13 years
- Distributor: A24; reported production cost about $7 million
- UK availability: In UK and Irish cinemas from Friday 20 November 2026, released by A24
The weekend’s documentary sensation has a final number. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s Elizabeth Holmes film finished its first weekend with $15 million from 855 screens, up from Saturday’s estimate of more than $12 million. IndieWire calls that the second-best opening ever for a non-music documentary, behind 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11, and TheWrap says it is the biggest documentary opening in 13 years.
A24 reported more than 2,000 sold-out shows for a film that cost a reported $7 million. Street Fighter still topped the overall weekend chart. Our review called it a hall of mirrors like no other, and UK audiences can queue up from 20 November.
John Wilson is filming a Harry Styles tour documentary for Universal
- Director: John Wilson (The History of Concrete; HBO’s How To with John Wilson)
- Subject: Harry Styles’ Madison Square Garden residency and the Together, Together tour
- Producers: Universal Pictures Content Group, Peanut World Pictures and Styles
- Rights: Universal Pictures Content Group owns global rights; theatrical release under discussion
- UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed
John Wilson has been quietly filming Harry Styles. According to two sources, the director of the indie box office hit The History of Concrete and HBO’s How To with John Wilson has been shooting Styles at his Madison Square Garden residency since August, with a film expected to mix live performance and a look at the world around the Together, Together tour — fans, crew and all.
Universal Pictures Content Group, Peanut World Pictures and Styles are producing, and Universal Pictures Content Group holds global rights. Distribution plans are still being worked out, but insiders say a theatrical release through Universal is on the table.
Netflix’s How to Kill Your Family starts filming in London
- Platform: Netflix — eight-part series
- Source: Bella Mackie’s 2021 bestseller
- Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy as Grace Bernard; Clive Owen co-stars
- Shoot: London now; runs until mid-February 2027, with a planned leg in Marbella, Spain
- UK availability: Will stream on Netflix in the UK; release date not yet confirmed (expected late 2027 or early 2028)
Cameras are rolling in London on Netflix’s adaptation of Bella Mackie’s 2021 bestseller, and the first set photos show Anya Taylor-Joy in character as Grace Bernard — the forgotten daughter of a ruthless billionaire who sets out to take revenge on the family that rejected her. Clive Owen co-stars.
Filming is due to run until mid-February 2027, with a planned Spanish leg in Marbella. Industry tracking points to a late 2027 or early 2028 arrival on Netflix.
TikTok bans ads for Alex Gibney’s Musk documentary
- Film: Musk, directed by Alex Gibney
- Action: TikTok has permanently suspended the film’s advertising account
- Reason cited: A repeated pattern of political content that breaks platform policies
- US run: Expanded to more than 470 screens after $70,000 from four cinemas in its first weekend
- UK availability: Universal holds international rights and says an overseas release is still planned. UK date not yet confirmed
TikTok has permanently suspended the advertising account for Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour investigation into Elon Musk, citing a repeated pattern of political content that breaks its policies. The ban landed just as the film expanded to more than 470 screens across North America after taking $70,000 from four cinemas in its first weekend.
Distributor Bleecker Street says it is appealing. The film’s unpaid TikTok account is still live, but the distributor can no longer pay to promote its posts.
Dirty Dancing sequel will honour Patrick Swayze, producer says
- Project: New Dirty Dancing film from Lionsgate; Color Force producing
- Cast: Jennifer Grey returns as Frances “Baby” Houseman; 1990s-set romance with a young cast
- Producer: Nina Jacobson, speaking at IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking Summit in Los Angeles
- Also mentioned: Jacobson’s Color Force is behind the newly announced Crazy Rich Asians series for HBO
- UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed
Producer Nina Jacobson says the new Dirty Dancing film will find a way to let audiences mourn Patrick Swayze, who died in 2009. Speaking at IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking Summit in Los Angeles on Saturday, she said Jennifer Grey is helping shape Baby’s next chapter and added, “don’t worry, we won’t be bringing him back with AI.”
Grey returns as Frances “Baby” Houseman in a 1990s-set romance with a young cast. Color Force is producing the Lionsgate project, and Jacobson also talked about the newly announced Crazy Rich Asians series for HBO.
SNL star James Austin Johnson brings his Trump to SNL UK
- Show: Saturday Night Live UK, season 2
- Guest: James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, in a job-swap cold open
- Host / musical guest: James Norton; The Streets
- Also in the sketch: George Fouracres as Andy Burnham; Freddie Meredith as Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- Next: Cynthia Erivo hosts next Saturday, ending the first run of season two; six more episodes planned for early 2027
- UK availability: Airs live on Sky One at 10pm on Saturdays and streams on NOW
James Austin Johnson made a surprise appearance on Saturday’s SNL UK, bringing his Donald Trump to a job-swap cold open with George Fouracres as Andy Burnham and Freddie Meredith as Volodymyr Zelenskyy. James Norton hosted, with The Streets as musical guest.
Next Saturday’s episode, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, ends the first run of season two, and the remaining six episodes are planned for early 2027.
The Simpsons bosses on how the show might one day end
- Where: The Hollywood Reporter’s Most Powerful People in Animation breakfast
- Showrunner: Matt Selman said he would love to hand the show to fresh people and let it carry on
- Creator: Matt Groening: “no end in sight”
- Film: The second Simpsons film arrives 20 years after the first
- UK availability: The Simpsons streams on Disney+. The sequel film is listed for UK cinemas on 3 September 2027
Speaking at The Hollywood Reporter’s first Most Powerful People in Animation breakfast, showrunner Matt Selman said he would love to hand The Simpsons to fresh people and let it carry on, while creator Matt Groening repeated his line that there is “no end in sight”.
The pair also talked about the second Simpsons film, which arrives 20 years after the first, with Groening joking that the team had finally recovered enough from the first movie to forget how hard it was.
Movieversalfilm Takeaway
London’s festival closes on a strong note with Loznitsa’s Imperium, while A24’s Holmes documentary proves audiences will still queue for non-fiction when the subject grips them. Closer to home, Netflix is shooting Bella Mackie in London, John Wilson is circling Harry Styles, and SNL UK keeps borrowing from across the Atlantic. Keep an eye on our Weekly Cinema Pack for what is still in cinemas.
A three-hour documentary opening to $15 million: proof that theatrical non-fiction is back, or a one-off for Elizabeth Holmes?