Top Plug(s) of the Week!

Chicago loves The Flop House! Our November 16 7pm show is SOLD OUT. But that means we’re adding a late show! If you snoozed on getting tix for the Taking Care of Business show, do not despair! We’re also going to do a 9pm show on another film in the Jim Belushi Cinematic Universe (JBCU), 1989’s “movie about a cop and a dog that’s not Turner and Hooch.” That’s right, we’re talking K-9! Go to the Sleeping Village website for tickets!

Also, we’re just ONE WEEK from the PREMIERE of Flop TV season 3! On Saturday, September 6 please join us at 9pm ET/6pm PT (or watch later, on demand!) for our discussion of The Adventures of Pluto Nash, in addition to all kinds of other fun streaming shenanigans! Single show tickets and season passes are available here, all season long!

What Did People Watch This Summer?

Inspired by Stuart’s most recent mini about the top summer movies of the last couple of decades, I thought I’d take a look at the top five films of summer 2025, in terms of domestic box office, and add a few thoughts.

For the purposes of this list, the summer movie season begins with Memorial Day (5/26) so it excludes some huge grossers from the late spring/early “astronomical summer,” like A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, Lilo & Stitch, and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. All dollar values are totals as of 8/27/2025.

1. Superman (Released 7/11, $347,303,910) — No complaints about this topping the list of summer hits. It was a genuine delight, returning optimistic "big blue boy scout” to theaters, with a pointed argument in favor of embracing the effort to be… y’know… nice and have empathy for others, rather than resentfully accruing money and power.

2. Jurassic World: Rebirth (Released 7/2, $335,780,840) — Voted “most likely on this list to be the subject of a new Flop House episode.” I did not see it. I think it’s kind of amazing how fully the Jurassic World franchise has drained me of any desire to see dino-based creature features, even when it stars actors I really enjoy, like Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali. My friends who did see it seemed to think I wasn’t missing anything.

3. How to Train Your Dragon (Released 6/13, $262,585,525) — I’ve heard that this is a “good” example of “live action” remakes of animated features. I still cannot bring myself to care about seeing a movie I already enjoyed in a far less appealing visual style. Remember back when everyone roundly rejected Gus Van Sant’s (not really)-shot-for-shot remake of Psycho? Can we go back to those days?

4. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Released 7/25, $257,908,772) — Basically enjoyed this, even as it fades from my memory. Wasn’t the resounding success that the MCU seemed to be banking on, after a lot of lackluster entries; but it’s at least part of the mild uptick that started with Thunderbolts (which I enjoyed more). Loved the zippy retro stuff and Galactus, but felt the second act was about the least thrilling thing possible for a movie where a nude silver lady surfs through a time tunnel. I like all the actors playing the F4, but I wish they’d been encouraged to give slightly bigger performances, since they’re (understandably) dwarfed by a giant planet-eater.

5. F1: The Movie (Released 6/27, $186,034,520) — From the F4 to F1. Excuse me, F1: THE MOVIE (in case you enter a movie theater and are confused why actual formula one racing isn’t happening in front of you). I didn’t see it, because I can’t bring myself to give a shit about car racing, though I’ll probably catch it on streaming sometime. I know from Top Gun: Maverick that Joseph Kosinski’s good at visceral cinematic displays of speed, though I had a near panic attack in the theater thinking about what TG: Maverick was trying to sell me in terms of military propaganda and a fading country insisting on its own exceptionalism. Then again, that was back when a trip to the movie theater was often accompanied with an edible, so I probably have only myself to blame.

Is there anything to learn from the list as a whole? IP continues to dominate the movies being made. The only “original” thing on here is F1, and that’s still essentially centered around a property (Formula One, with the explicit collaboration of the F1A). Superman also feels new, (despite having been in nine previous movies and several film serials) just because it’s been so long since we’ve seen this version of Supes on screen, but clearly there’s still a dearth of new stories being told. I’ve enjoyed my share of franchises and sequels over the years, but the exhaustion is real. Let’s hope studios take the lessons of recent commercial AND critical hits like Sinners and Weapons and start throwing money behind talented creators doing new work again.

Next on the Podcast

8/30 - Several of you asked for it, and now you’re gonna get it! The 2025 version of WAR OF THE WORLDS was only released a month ago, but it’s already infamous, providing the world with new memes and a 2% Rotten Tomatoes score (and that 2% is from a review saying “hey this is a fun bad movie”). Let’s dive into this tale of data-eating aliens together!

9/6 - Elliott takes us on a tour of cinematic doctors, seeing which ones we’d entrust with our healthcare.

Plugging Away

Elliott’s still writing DC’s ongoing Harley Quinn series, his kids’ book Sadie Mouse Wrecks the House is out now, and his tome on comedy writing, Joke Farming, is available for pre-order!

Stuart paints Warhammer models/chats with viewers most Fridays on his Twitch channel, and Sharlene’s body-positive gym Jiggle Studio is now open!

Dan’s most recent Special Interests newsletter is about a macabre screening and haunted houses. Sign up to have it delivered directly to you, twice a month. And, just because it’s rarely mentioned, he has an Instagram for his drawing/occasional painting.

You Made it to the End!

Here’s a behind-the-scenes shot of Stu taping something for the first episode of FlopTV Season 3!