One Battle After Another hits HBO Max on December 19, Warner Bros. has announced.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedy action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio hits the streaming service just shy of three months after it launched in theaters. The film will debut on HBO linear a day later, on December 20 at 8pm ET.

One Battle After Another leads the Golden Globes this year with nine nominations, including Best Picture – Musical/Comedy, and also features Golden Globe nominees Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti. It is expected to be in the mix for Best Picture at the Oscars.

The movie is set to be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K UHD on January 20, 2026. Plus, fans can look forward to a collectable steelbook in 4k UHD in the spring, which will include exclusive special features curated and produced by Anderson himself.

The streaming release date comes after One Battle After Another made $204 million at the global box office ($71 million domestic, $133 million international). That’s enough to make it the highest-grossing film of director Paul Thomas Anderson’s career, overtaking There Will Be Blood's $76.4 million haul back in 2007. But the bad news is that One Battle After Another reportedly needed around $300 million to break even theatrically.

Still, the film has all sorts of awards buzz about it, and it has its streaming run to help boost HBO Max. IGN's One Battle After Another review returned a 10/10. We said: "Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio finally team up, and the result is a 10/10 masterpiece."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

He’s still on board! It mastermind Andy Muschietti recently opened up about whether or not he still plans to create a massive supercut of It and It: Chapter Two that would end up running over six and a half hours long.

During a recent reddit Q&A session for his new show It: Welcome to Derry, the filmmaker was asked: "[You've] previously talked about doing an Extended Cut that merges It and It Chapter Two in one seamless experience with hours of unused footage. Is this Cut still happening?"

To which Muschietti then responded: "Yes, still a big dream of mine. Since we've been involved heavily in this show, we haven't had time to execute it. Crossing fingers."

After It: Chapter Two was released in 2019, the filmmaker revealed he wanted to create a supercut of the two movies that would include completely new footage, deleted scenes, and even scenes that never made it past the writing process.

One scene in particular that was originally going to be included focused on a celestial turtle named Maturin that appears in Bill’s basement. The turtle is a staple of many King stories and as a cosmic entity very old and wise, he serves as the antithesis to evil entities like Pennywise. The scene was originally set to take place underwater, and ultimately was scrapped due to pacing.

Muschietti has had his hands pretty full lately, so he definitely hasn’t had time to get into the cut just yet. He and wife Barbara Muschietti developed It: Welcome to Derry alongside showrunner Jason Fuchs back in 2022, just three years after Chapter Two. The series premiered on HBO Max in October to a generally positive response, and just closed out its first season on December 14.

The filmmaker is locked in for at least two more seasons of Welcome to Derry, with the show — which currently takes place in 1962 — doing two more significant time jumps. Season 2 is set to take place in 1935 and season 3 will take place in 1908.

It: Welcome to Derry is now available to stream on HBO Max, alongside both of Muschietti’s It films.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Following a brand new trailer at The Game Awards, Housemarque's upcoming release Saros is now available for PS5 fans to preorder. Its physical copy is currently listed for $69.99 at various retailers (see here at Amazon) and, as its new trailer also revealed, it's set to be released next year on April 30.

Below, we've broken down where you can preorder Saros right now, alongside information on its digital deluxe edition and what preorder bonus you'll get to enjoy by grabbing a copy early.

Preorder Saros

Saros Preorder Bonus

For those who preorder Saros, you'll get the Hands of Shore Armor as a preorder bonus, which can be seen above.

Saros – Digital Deluxe Edition

There's also a Digital Deluxe Edition of Saros, which is listed for $79.99. This comes with a few extras alongside the Hands of Shore Armor preorder bonus and full game, including the Astra Armor, Onryo Armor, and Midgard Armor. Players who purchase this version will also get 48 hour early access.

• See it here at PlayStation Store - $79.99

What Is Saros?

Saros is the latest game from Housemarque, and is the studio's follow-up to Returnal. According to a post on the PlayStation Blog from Gregory Louden, Creative Director at Housemarque, Saros is "the haunting story of a lost off-world colony on Carcosa under an ominous eclipse. You play as Arjun Devraj [played by Rahul Kohli], a powerful Soltari Enforcer who will stop at nothing to find who he is looking for."

Louden also notes the return of "bullet ballet" style shooting, alongside "a new ability, Parry, where with perfect timing of R1 you can reflect certain projectiles back at enemies, destroying or staggering them."

Back when it was first announced, Louden detailed in another PlayStation Blog post that, "A key gameplay distinction between Saros and Returnal is permanent resources and progression making every death valuable." Because of this, you'll be able to come back stronger with each run to overcome obstacles you face.

Other Preorder Guides

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

The Russo Brothers, directors of Avengers: Endgame and the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, have posted a fresh Instagram teaser that Marvel fans are now attempting to decode.

The image, posted to Instagram this morning, shows a blurry black and white object that fans say makes the shape of a V. That really is all we have to go on — which is not much — and yet fans have quickly formed a long list of theories for what the V might represent.

Of course, Doomsday stars Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom — whose full name begins Victor Von. Could this V just be a nod to that? It seems to simple. What about V as a Roman numeral then, for the number five? Well, Doomsday would be the fifth Avengers movie. But again, there's nothing here we don't know already.

But what if V was a countdown? With a report that Avengers: Doomsday will get its first trailer attached to the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash, speculation is rife over when that trailer will find its way online. (As a reminder, the new Avatar movie launches in theaters this Friday, December 19.)

"V as in 5 in Roman numerals? It is five days until Fire & Ash — and supposedly the Doomsday trailer with it — releases, no? Maybe this is a cryptic countdown," suggested Marvel fan luthestreewhisperer on reddit.

As noted over the weekend, Doomsday will reportedly get not one but four trailers released with Fire and Ash over the course of four weeks, in a bid to keep the excitement going (and Avatar's tickets selling for repeat viewings).

With at least four big superhero teams in the movie, could each trailer focus on one of these in turn? Joining the line-up for Doomsday are members of the classic Avengers (including Thor and Loki), the New Avengers (AKA, The Thunderbolts), the Fantastic Four and the classic X-Men.

This isn't the first time the Russo Brothers have issued a cryptic Instagram tease, of course. Previously, the pair posted an image that appeared to show the outline of the letters "A V X", which many fans took to mean "Avengers Versus X-Men", a nod at the expected opening of the movie, before everyone realizes Doctor Doom is the bad guy they need to work together to defeat.

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters in almost exactly one year: on December 18, 2026.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Plenty of teenagers look forward to prom night, but what if that night literally never ends? That's basically the idea behind Dead Teenagers, a new Oni Press slasher horror series about a group of teens forced to relive a deadly prom night ordeal over and over again.

IGN can exclusively debut the first preview of Dead Teenagers #1. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

Dead Teenagers is written by Jude Ellison S. Doyle (Maw, Be Not Afraid) and illustrated by Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer Reborn, EC's Cruel Universe). The first issue features cover art by Yarsky, Naomi Franq, Keyla Valerio, and Brandt & Stein. Here's Oni's official logline for the book:

Since 1997, five friends have been trapped in the ultimate nightmare as a mysterious entity forces them to relive their first prom night over and over again . . .and re-kills them in new and increasingly insane ways each time. They dress up. They party. They make out. And no matter what they try to change, they always die . . . until now. Something is about to break the cycle that has kept Alicia, J.T., Ryder, Brandy, and their group of friends locked in a bizarre purgatory beyond all understanding . . . but what they find on the other side will be the most disturbing revelation of all.

"I think most of us have feared, at one point or another, that high school might literally never end,” said Doyle in a statement. “Those of us who’ve made it out can also recall looking back and realizing that what we took for granted, back in those days, was actually terrifying. Dead Teenagers is about both those feelings — about what it takes to get unstuck from your teen years and start growing up."

Dead Teenagers #1 will be released on March 18, 2026. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop.

In other comic book news, Oni's Flux House imprint is getting a FCBD 2026 special, and we've got the full scoop on the huge twist in TMNT #13.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

George Clooney’s over it. Over what, you might be asking? Well, he’s done "kissing girls" and making romance films — which, when you think about being a go-to romantic lead made him the heartthrob he is in the zeitgeist, is truly the end of an era.

“I’ve been trying to go the route Paul Newman did — ‘Okay, well, I’m not kissing a girl anymore,’” Clooney recently revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail, noting that it was a bit of a discussion in his household before he made the official call.

He continued: “When I turned 60, I had a conversation with my wife. I said, ‘Look, I can still play basketball with the boys. I play with 25-year-old guys. I can still hang, I’m in shape. But in 25 years, I’m 85 years old. It doesn’t matter how many granola bars you eat, that’s a real number.'”

Bethesda development chief Todd Howard has officially ruled out appearing on the Fallout TV show even in cameo form, insisting he’s better behind the camera than in front of it.

Ever since the Fallout TV series was announced, fans of the Fallout video games have wondered whether Howard might appear in, for example, a random Vault dweller, a ghoul, or some other cameo.

Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios has fully detailed the game’s Cold Snap update and its new cold-weather survival mechanics.

The update, out December 16, adds the new Cold Snap map condition, which is a winter variant across Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, and The Blue Gate maps. Cold Snap adds cold-weather survival mechanics fueled by snowstorms across Speranza. Snowfall reduces visibility, lakes freeze over, and the open surface becomes even more dangerous. Exposure to extreme cold causes frostbite, thus encouraging new strategies around healing items, loadouts, and indoor shelter.

Arc Raiders Cold Snap gameplay changes, from Embark Studios:

• Environmental Hazard: Cold, harsh weather introduces new risks for raiders who remain outdoors too long. Players must watch out for frostbite, a creeping condition that slowly drains their health bar.
• Shelter Mechanics: To prevent frostbite, raiders will need to adapt their tactics as the cold gradually seeps into their bones. Raiders must rethink their loadouts, ensuring they can heal themselves or their teammates and plan their extractions with care, finding shelter if needed.
• Visual Overhaul: Frost buildup, frozen lakes, snow accumulation and more across Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport and The Blue Gate maps.

Elsewhere, unique loot and rewards are available through the Flickering Flames event and Candleberry Banquet project.

Flickering Flames Event: An act of endurance and patience that tests Raiders’ survival skills during the Cold Snap. Raiders can unlock rewards across 25 levels, including new gear, customizations elements and Raider Tokens by earning Merits, which are automatically gained from XP in rounds. To activate the event, Raiders must have played five rounds of the game.

Candleberry Banquet Project: A new project that brings Raiders together to feel the fragile warmth that shines through the frigid cold. Raiders can earn rewards by scavenging unique items topside and collecting Candleberries. It features five stages, each revealing a new scene on the banquet table. Completing stages grants rewards such as cosmetic items, Raider Tokens and Merits, with Merits contributing progress in the Flickering Flames event.

Starting December 26, the Goalie Raider deck will be included in the base game. The new deck includes new items and feats for players to complete, offering rewards such as Raider tokens, cosmetic items and more. These include a hockey-inspired Raider outfit in several color variants, along with a hockey stick Raider tool.

And finally, the Expedition Project Raider Reset lets players restart their journey with certain buffs, advantages, and rewards. The Expedition Project will provide Raiders with an opportunity to undergo a reset, bringing a new raider and a new story for the player. This optional reset is unlocked by collecting key materials to build a Caravan for the existing Raider then signing up for the departure during the Expedition window. By departing, players will reset their character progress for a new Arc Raiders journey with exclusive buffs, advantages and rewards that carry over.

In a blog post, Embark explained why it’s doing the seasonal reset. “Progression wipes are a notoriously difficult thing to balance in online multiplayer games — we get that,” the developer said. “Mandatory global wipes have some obvious benefits: heavily invested players get to re-experience the initial grind once again and, for a time, the playing field is levelled. The optional Expedition Project is our solution to some of the problems that inevitably arise with mandatory wipes — specifically, by respecting your time investment in the game. We want to offer you the choice:

“Not completed as much as you’d like? Keep on raiding, building, and growing. Ready for a new challenge and to grind once again? Depart on the Expedition, and receive buffs, rewards, and bragging rights.”

Arc Raiders Cold Snap update release times:

Embark Studios launches Cold Snap on Tuesday, December 16, at 10.30am CET / 9.30am UK time / 1.30am PT / 4.30am ET.

Cold Snap includes limited-time events and elements running from Tuesday, December 16 until Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at 10.30am CET / 9.30am UK time / 1.30am PT / 4.30am ET.

Cold Snap is the last update listed as part of Arc Raiders' 2025 content roadmap, and Embark has yet to outline what's coming in 2026. Arc Raiders sold over 4 million copies worldwide within two weeks of launch, cementing its commercial success. Nexon also revealed that the extraction shooter had reached a huge concurrent count of 700,000 players across all platforms. It's done so well it crossed over into the world of South Park with a surprise appearance that was put together in just a few days. Cementing its success, Arc Raiders won Best Multiplayer at last week’s The Game Awards.

IGN's Arc Raiders review, returned a 9/10. We said: "With polished gunplay and an irresistible grind, Arc Raiders sets a new standard for extraction shooters."

If this has tempted you into jumping into Arc Raiders, check out our guide to the best settings, find out what skills we recommend unlocking first, and see how to earn loot by delivering field depot crates.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The first trailer for Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2 has teased shock reveals for the Netflix show and answers to questions fans have been asking for years.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 follow:

The trailer picks up in the aftermath of the catastrophic events of Vol. 1 and the awakening of Will’s powers. Will (Noah Schnapp) and his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), have a heart to heart in which she reassures him the battle against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) isn’t over.

Everything we have ever assumed about the upside down has been dead wrong.

Volume 2 of the final season of Stranger Things arrives Dec. 25th at 5pm PT. pic.twitter.com/GIbx0SErFD

— sƃuᴉɥʇ ɹǝƃuɐɹʇs (@Stranger_Things) December 15, 2025

Meanwhile, Holly (Nell Fisher) and Max (Sadie Sink) are trying to escape what we believe to be Vecna’s 1950s fantasy world, and they’re walking through strange doors to do it.

Then we get what I think is the killer quote from the trailer, which comes from Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo): “this whole time, everything we’ve ever assumed about the Upside Down has been dead wrong.”

Dustin and Steve (Joe Keery) are then seen looking at some sort of red, potentially dimensional mass that is whirling around above them. Whatever this is, it seems key to understanding the true nature of the Upside Down, which Stranger Things co-creators Ross and Matt Duffer have promised to explain in this fifth and final episode.

Elsewhere, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) calls on Kali/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen), who she rescued from captivity by the military in Vol. 1, to help her find and kill Vecna. We see shots of Vecna / Henry Creel in various states as the central characters become increasingly distressed. Briefly, we see Will use his new powers again, as evidenced by his eyes turning all white as they did at the end of Vol. 1. Clearly, this is all gearing up for a big final showdown.

Ross Duffer took to Instagram last week to outline what to expect from Vol. 2. Episode 5, titled Shock Jock, picks up moments after the end of Sorcerer. Frank Darabont directed this one, although Duffer said Shock Jock is “far darker, and far scarier” than Darabont's previous episode, Turnbow Trap.

Episode 6 is called Escape from Camazotz, which was directed by Shawn Levy. “It’s the biggest episode of the three,” Duffer said, “and the performances make us cry every time we watch it.” It sounds like we might get a character death in this one. And based on the name, the episode will revolve around Holly and Max’s attempt to break free from the mind prison created by Vecna.

And finally, Episode 7 is called The Bridge, which the Duffer brothers co-directed with Levy. “Don’t want to say too much, but aside from the finale, it’s probably the most emotional chapter of the season,” Ross Duffer teased. More character deaths, perhaps?

Even with this trailer, we have a number of lingering burning questions. We see some sort of power wave fly across the sky of the Upside Down. What is its purpose? Is Vecna actually the ultimate villainous power in Stranger Things, or is it the Mind Flayer? And, as the trailer teases, what is the Upside Down really?

Where this is all going in Volume 2 is a matter of intense speculation among fans — and something we here at IGN have discussed ourselves (check out our article, Stranger Things Season 5: Our Biggest Burning Questions After Episodes 1-4, to find out more).

Stranger Things Season 5 debuts on Netflix in three parts. The first four episodes arrived for the Thanksgiving holiday on November 26. The next three episodes premiere on Christmas Day, and the series finale will debut on the streamer and in over 350 theaters nationwide on New Year’s Eve.

Stranger Things Season 5 release dates:

• VOL 1 - November 26, 5pm PT
• VOL 2 - Christmas, 5pm PT
• THE FINALE - New Year’s Eve, 5pm PT

We’ve got plenty more on Stranger Things, including Ross Duffer’s call to arms for fans to turn off “garbage” TV settings before watching Season 5. And be sure to check out our Stranger Things: Season 5, Vol. 1 spoiler review.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

James Cameron has dismissed criticism of 3D and high frame rate in his Avatar movies, pointing to their enormous box office success as evidence that audiences don’t mind it, and explaining why he likes the tech.

Ahead of the release of the third Avatar movie, Fire and Ash, Discussing Film asked Cameron if he’s bothered by negative feedback to the CGI-heavy franchise’s use of 3D and associated high frame rate.

“I think $2.3 billion says you might be wrong on that,” Cameron replied. “Well, that’s the argument from authority. But the argument from artistic is: I happen to like it, and it’s my movie.”

The special effects-heavy Avatar films cost a huge amount of money to produce, but they have historically made billions of dollars at the box office. Avatar remains the highest-grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation), and has earned a staggering $2.9 billion across several theatrical runs. (Avengers: Endgame overtook Avatar for a brief period, before Avatar then stole its crown back via a fresh re-release.) 2022 sequel Avatar: The Way of Water earned $2.3 billion, meanwhile, cementing it as the third-highest grossing film of all time — just ahead of Cameron's own Titanic, which floats on $2.2 billion.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is expected to follow suit — and the pressure is on it to deliver for Disney so director James Cameron can realize his vision and release Avatar 4 and 5 over the next six years. But Cameron has sounded words of caution recently. Speaking on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, Cameron admitted he was feeling nervous about Avatar: Fire and Ash’s box office performance, and was mindful of the “forces” working against theatrical releases in 2025.

Expanding on his point about 3D and high frame rate, Cameron got technical, saying he likes the high frame rate to “smooth out” the 3D experience.

“We have a lot of different neurons that do a lot of difficult things,” he said. “But we have dedicated neurons for parallax. So when people say they get eye strain watching 3D, it’s not eye strain, it’s brain strain. Because we integrate into a stereoscopic perception of the world in our visual cortex. Those parallax sensitive neurons can’t fire if the vertical edges of things are jumping. The brain can’t process that. So if we’re having a stroboscopic effect that’s degrading the 3D experience then we’ll use high frame rate. It interpolates to a level that we actually can process 3D, and then that brain strain goes away.”

On the issue of Avatar's box office, Cameron admitted he was “absolutely” ready to walk away from Avatar if Fire and Ash flops. “I’ve been in Avatar land for 20 years,” he said. “Actually 30 years because I wrote it in ‘95, but I wasn’t working continuously on it for those first 10 years. Yeah, absolutely, sure. If this is where it ends, cool.” But Disney reportedly has a plan to encourage repeat viewings of Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters — and it involves four different Avengers: Doomsday trailers.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

As major Hollywood actors license their voices to AI, and Coca-Cola uses algorithms to generate its latest holiday commercial, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Knives Out director Rian Johnson has his own message on the subject: "F*** AI."

"Yeah, f*** AI," Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's something that's making everything worse in every single way."

Johnson made the comment last month, at a festival showing of his forthcoming Wake Up Dead Man, the third entry in his successful Knives Out murder mystery series starring Daniel Craig. Notably, this was before Disney — his former Star Wars paymaster — decided to splash $1 billion on a stake in OpenAI and license the very characters he'd previously directed for public use as generative AI video fodder.

"I don't get it," Johnson continued. "I mean, I get it in a 'This makes sense to save money by not paying artists' way. But then, what the f*** are we doing? Is this where we want to be?"

Last week, Disney boss Bob Iger announced an unprecedented licensing deal that would see 200 iconic characters unlocked for use in ChatGPT and Sora, allowing users to create their own shortform video content that would then be regurgitated up and made available to subscribers on Disney+.

"The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works," Iger said in a statement.