A steady flow of specialty films starts this weekend with the return of a key player to cinemas and a broader arthouse slate that will expand steadily into awards season. This is still a weird theatrical landscape but independent distributors and theater owners have agreed for months that there’s no recovery without a brisker pace of new releases

Indie distributors also appreciate that the weekend’s big studio release, The Woman King with Viola Davis, is a classic battle epic, yes, but also a story for adults, and for women. Another wide release, A24’s XXX prequel Pearl, skews young but — it’s still indie.

Brett Morgen Savors Sound & Vision Of David Bowie In 'Moonage Daydream' As He Closes Out Music Doc Career

UTA Signs 'The Woman King's Sheila Atim

'The Woman King' Conquers $1.7M On Thursday - Box Office

“I think we are starting to get a full complement of movies to see. Adult movies that are smart and funny,” says one specialty distribution executive. It’s been a long wait. “Patience is a virtue we need to have a lot of. These may not [all] be huge movies, or Oscar movies but they can be stepping-stones, and all steps are in the right direction.”

Searchlight Pictures is back in cinemas with a wide release for the first time since Nightmare Alley last December after having a handful of films head to Hulu. It opens Agatha Christie-esque whodunnit See How They Run on 2,400 screens, bigger than specialty-sized, but not all will open as wide.

Ton George’s feature directorial written by Mark Chappell is set in the West End of 1950s London. Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable (Saoirse Ronan) investigate when plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after the Hollywood director is murdered. The film topped the U.K. and Ireland box office last weekend with £1.1 million ($1.3 million). Stateside, it’s opening a mix of commercial and arthouses: AMC Lincoln Square and Union Square in NY, Thoroughbred in Nashville, AMC Century City and the Grove in LA. Also the Hillcrest in San Diego, Cinema Arts in Long Island NY, AMC Kabuki in San Francisco, Alamo Drafthouses, and Landmarks.

Upcoming from Searchlight in 2022: The Banshees Of Inisherin Oct. 21; The Menu with Ralph Fiennes Nov, 18; and Sam Mendes Empire of Light on Dec. 9.

Banshees got a 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. (That’s before the ovation jokes started – and this was one of the longest between Venice and TIFF.) Directed by Martin McDonagh, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. See Deadline review.

The Menu debuted at TIFF. Deadline review. Mark Mylod’s psychological thriller is written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, and stars Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor Joy.

And Olivia Colman-starring Empire Of Light world premiered at Telluride – Deadline review here — and also screened at TIFF.

We’ll revisit these as they open theatrically.

Walt Disney’s chief financial officer Christine McCarthy even gave Searchlight a rare shout-out during a Q&A at a Wall Street investor conference last week. Responding to a query on motion picture strategy, she talked up Marvel then added, “And Searchlight. I just want to mention. Searchlight it is not an IP brand, but it is a genre brand. I know there are film festivals right now, and some of the content that is being shown at those venues is from Searchlight. Very, very well received. And we know that they have kind of been a magnet for awards. It’s really high quality, lesser budgeted, more adult dramas. But it’s definitely, when you see Searchlight, you kind of know what you are getting.”

New specialty openings: Neon presents the Brett Morgen-written, directed and produced David Bowie extravaganza Moonage Daydream on 170 Imax screens in North America. The unique documentary on Bowie’s life and genius uses kaleidoscopic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music. Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture, Cobain: Montage of Heck, Jane) offers a feature length, experiential cinematic odyssey guided by Bowie’s own narration. It’s also the first officially sanctioned film on the artist. Debuted at Cannes (Deadline review). Premiered to a sold-out Imax audience at TIFF this week.

Focus Features presents The Silent Twins at 279 domestic locations. This is a challenging drama that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section, Deadline review here. Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance are June and Jennifer Gibbons, twin sisters in Wales who communicated only with one another to escape the complex reality of their lives. Written by Andrea Seigel from a best-selling book by Marjorie Wallace (played by Jodhi May). It’s the English language debut of director Agnieszka Smoczyńska, and Wright’s first producing role.

The Gibbons’ gripping story had two BBC adaptations and a stage play before the book. There most likely won’t be a windfall here – could be something similar to the June release of Sundance film Brian & Charles. That opened on the same number of U.S. screens to $216k for a gross of $431K.

IFC Films opens thriller God’s Country on about 790 screens. Directed by Julian Higgins. Starring Thandiwe Newton, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Jeremy Bobb, Kai Lennox, Tanaya Beatty. Newton is a grieving college professor who confronts two hunters she catches trespassing on her property and is drawn into an escalating battle of wills with catastrophic consequences. Premiered at Sundance. Deadline review here.

Sierra Pettengill’s Riotsville USA from Magnolia Pictures opens at NYC’s Film Forum. In LA 9/23, in Chicago and Washington, D.C. on 9/30. Explores a major turning point in American history when the protest movements of the late 1960s came into conflict with increasingly militarized police departments. Unearthed military training footage from fake, Army-built model towns called “Riotsvilles,” where military and police were trained to respond to civil disorder, tells the story. The fake towns came out of the Kerner Commission — created by President Lyndon B. Johnson to explore the causes of unrest — which recommended increasing local police department budgets. Pettengill’s doc reconstructs the formation of a national consciousness obsessed with maintaining law and order by any means necessary, drawing insight from a time similar to our own. Debuted at Sundance, see Deadline’s Sundance Studio.

Greenwich Entertainment, which opened documentary Hockeyland in 60+ Minnesota and Midwest theaters, will start expanding in week 2 to 154 screens nationwide. New markets this weekend include Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbia, Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, LA, Nashville, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Washington, DC.

Jean-Luc Godard: A Collection Of The Director's Films

NFL 2022 Schedule: Primetime TV Games, Thanksgiving Menu, Christmas Tripleheader & More

The Queen Onscreen: 15 Actresses (And Actors) Who've Played Elizabeth II In Film And On TV

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.

The women's "pure resilience is better than anybody I've ever worked with," says the movie's fight and stunt coordinator.

The "Daily Show" host said that criticism of the new Ariel is "ridiculous" — and reminded "internet racists" that the character is imaginary.

An X-rated "archive of original stag films" was shared on social media ahead of the "Pearl" premiere.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appear to have been uninvited to a state reception hosted by the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace on Sunday evening.

Julia Fox refuted speculation that her relationship with Kanye West was a PR stunt, but said that ultimately it wasn't "sustainable."

"I'm running around in, like, a bra and underwear for 80% of every episode. We had to be scantily clad in order for that show to be a hit."View Entire Post ›

Royal expert Neil Sean dishes on the latest gossip involving Harry and Meghan and this time the menu was not exactly as described by some in the media.

With titles comes a greater level of royal security.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were reportedly uninvited to a reception at Buckingham Palace, and sources close to the couple are "baffled."

Hopefully this marks the beginning of a reconciliation.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian share four children: North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s daughter Charlotte made a rare appearance alongside her mom at the premiere of Do Revenge. See the sweet mother-daughter snap.

TOBY MELVILLE/Via Getty ImagesIn what is perhaps the ultimate in first-world problems, King Charles is not expected to bestow an HRH honorific on Harry and Meghan Markle’s kids, but they will become prince and princess, it has been reported.The Sun reports that the new arrangements, which will formalize the names of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are expected to be confirmed over the coming weeks.Lilibet Finally Meets Her Grandpa Prince CharlesAccording to a custom begun in 1917, the grandc

The Sussexes and Cambridges had a private dinner with the rest of the royals this week, and no photos were released.

Kate Middleton and Prince William had a fleeting PDA moment during their Sandringham appearance today in their first solo outing as prince and princess of Wales.

Sarah Michelle Gellar says being a teen and young woman in the entertainment industry "was not easy," but "victim blaming and shaming" keep her from opening up about those stories publicly.

"And now, we are there for her, united in grief," Prince Edward said in a new statement about the Queen's death shared with Insider.

Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew viewed flowers left for Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Friday. The outing is the first time Ferguson has been seen since the queen's death.

This week, the royal family joined an emotional procession to bring Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. And if you noticed that Meghan Markle didn’t arrive with Kate Middleton, you should know that there’s a totally undramatic reason why they took separate cars. Arthur Edwards/WPA Pool/Getty Images As Page Six points out, Markle wasn’t allowed to ride in the same car as Middleton, even though the royal women arrived in pairs. The reason? Middleton’s husband, P

Archie and Lilibet reportedly won't get HRH status when they're named Prince and Princess by King Charles, and the Sussexes are "furious."