Calendar: July 17-23, 2026
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
20 Years Ago … Saturday, June 17, 2006: Champaign movie studio Dreamscape Cinema follows up the successful local debut of their flagship title SHEEBA in March with the world premiere of sophomore release DISCONNECT. The time travel drama starring Steffany Huckaby, Michael Muhney, Amanda Troop, Holmes Osbourne, Eddie Jones, and Tami Erin makes its 7 p.m. debut at Foellinger Auditorium on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana. DISCONNECT would closely follow its predecessor into the United States entertainment marketplace by a few weeks in early 2011 as a DVD edition issued by Osiris Entertainment. Dreamscape founder Robin Christian served as writer and director for this offering. As reported on 6/6/06, 2/19/11 at CUBlog. [R]
35 Years Ago … July 1-15, 1991: Location shooting for the big-screen biography of legendary baseball player George “Babe” Ruth, aptly titled THE BABE, takes place at Danville Stadium on the south end of Danville, IL. Led by director Arthur Hiller, the production crew redresses the home of the Danville Dans club to alternately resemble Fenway Park of Boston and the defunct Forbes Field of Pittsburgh for scenes in the film; some shots are eventually augmented with early CGI effects to extend the upper decks and fill the stands not populated with flesh-and-blood extras recruited from the immediate area. Hollywood actors who are on hand to perform include Bruce Boxleitner, Kelly McGillis, and star John Goodman. Universal Pictures would release THE BABE on Friday, April 17, 1992, to more than 1,500 screens in North America. News-Gazette article [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ The Esquire Lounge, Champaign, IL
Champaign Movie Makers* meeting (7/20, 7 p.m.)
@ The Literary, Champaign, IL
Film-Fanatic.Club presents AMERICAN PSYCHO (7/25,10:30 p.m.)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
Chambana Film Society presents “2026 CineSonic Music Film Festival” feat. RESYNATOR (documentary) (7/19, 2 p.m.)
@ WEFT 90.1 FM, Champaign, IL
“Frame Noise” film music program hosted by Przemek (7/22, 7-8 p.m.) Live Streaming | Archive
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
THE ODYSSEY, DISCLOSURE DAY*, EVIL DEAD BURN, THE INVITE, MINIONS & MONSTERS (animation), MOANA, OBSESSION, SUPERGIRL*, TOY STORY 5 (animation), YOUNG WASHINGTON (faith film) (7/17 on), THE NEVERENDING STORY (7/19, 3 & 7 p.m.), Fan Faves: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (7/20, 7/22, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.), AMC “Screen Unseen” (mystery movie) (7/20, 7 p.m.), HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL (filmed stage musical) (7/23 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE ODYSSEY, BACKROOMS extended cut, DISCLOSURE DAY, EVIL DEAD BURN, GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS*, THE INVITE, JACKASS: BEST AND LAST* (mockumentary), MINIONS & MONSTERS (animation), MOANA, OBSESSION, SUPERGIRL, TOY STORY 5 (animation), YOUNG WASHINGTON (faith film) (7/17 on), The Metropolitan Opera encore: The Merry Widow starring Renée Fleming (7/22, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), THE NEVERENDING STORY (7/22, 7 p.m.), BAD COUNSELORS (7/23, 7 p.m.) *single screenings daily
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. COCO (animation) (7/23, 9 p.m., free)
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
TOY STORY 5 (animation), MOANA (Screen 1), THE ODYSSEY (Screen 2) (7/17-18), MOANA (Screen 1), THE ODYSSEY (Screen 2) (7/19-23)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
MOANA (7/17-7/19, 7/23 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (animation) (7/20, 1 p.m.; 7/22, 7 p.m.), SWISS ARMY MAN (7/21, 7 p.m.), TOMBSTONE (7/23, 7 p.m.)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
MOANA (7/17-7/19)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
THE ODYSSEY (Screen 1), MOANA, TOY STORY 5 (animation) (Screen 2) (7/17-7/19, 7/22-7/23)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ Living Room Theaters/Indy Arts Center, etc., Indianapolis, IN
Heartland Film and TQL Wealth Management present
9th Indy Shorts Film Festival (7/21-7/26) Information
@ Ramova Theatre, Chicago, IL
Midwest Film Festival presents “Midwest Royale”
feat. “Best of the Midwest” Film Festival (7/23-7/25) Information
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
8/15
Pens to Lens* gala 2026
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 3 p.m.
8/22
Halloran Family Foundation presents
FischerFest* “Big Stories, Short Films”
@ Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL, 3-10 p.m., free
9/7-9/17
44th Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival
@ Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema + Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
9/23-9/27
33rd Chicago Underground Film Festival
@ ACX Harper Theater – Hyde Park, etc., Chicago, IL
10/8-10/18
35th Heartland Film Festival
@ various venues, Indianapolis, IN
10/23
“Behind the ‘Scream’: A Live Conversation with David Arquette”
feat. 30th anniversary screening of SCREAM (1996)
@ Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington, IL, 7 p.m.
10/27
An evening with ‘Partially Devoured’ author Daniel Kraus
feat. screening of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
11/5-11/15
Cinema St. Louis presents
35th Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival
@ The Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis, MO
11/20-11/22
25th anniversary Route 66 Film Festival*
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Chambana Film Society presents “2026 CineSonic Music Film Festival”
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 2 p.m.
7/26: JACK JOHNSON: SURFILMUSIC; 8/2: THE LAST CRITIC; 8/9: BROTHER VERSUS BROTHER; 8/16: “Shorts: Music Documentary”; 8/23: WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON D.C.; 8/30: RADIOHEART: THE DRIVE & TIMES OF DJ KEVIN COLE
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad”
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 9 p.m. Thursdays, free
7/30: POWER BALLAD; 8/6: PROJECT HAIL MARY; 8/13: STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2026 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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