Calendar: July 31-Aug. 6, 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
30 Years Ago … Thursday, July 25, 1996: James R. Velde, a former Hollywood executive, passes away at the Motion Picture & Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA, at age 82, according to an obituary published by the Los Angeles Daily News. Velde spent his entire career in the motion picture industry apart from serving in the United States army during World War II, starting at a regional shipping office of Paramount Pictures in the mid-1930s and eventually retiring in 1977 as a senior vice president of United Artists after nearly 30 years with that studio. He is well regarded in the industry for his innovations in film distribution and marketing as well as philanthropy. A native of Bloomington, IL, Velde joined Paramount after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University, per a 1976 Boxoffice magazine article. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ WEFT 90.1 FM, Champaign, IL
“Frame Noise” film music program hosted by Przemek (8/5, 7-8 p.m.) Streaming | Archive
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
I WANT YOUR SEX, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, SRINIVSA MANGAPURAM (in Telugu with English sub), HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL (filmed stage musical), MINIONS & MONSTERS (animation), MOANA, THE ODYSSEY, TOY STORY 5 (animation) (7/31 on), Fan Faves: THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (animation) (8/3, 8/5, 11 a.m. & 2 p.m.), AMC “Scream Unseen” (mystery movie) (8/3, 7 p.m.), ICE CREAM MAN, SUPER TROOPERS 3 (8/6 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
I WANT YOUR SEX, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, EVIL DEAD BURN, HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL (filmed stage musical), THE INVITE*, MINIONS & MONSTERS (animation), MOANA, MOTOR CITY*, OBSESSION, THE ODYSSEY, TOY STORY 5 (animation), YOUNG WASHINGTON (faith film) (7/31 on), WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 55th anniversary (8/2, 3 & 7 p.m.; 8/5, 7 p.m.), THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (8/2, 3 & 7 p.m.; 8/5, 7 p.m.), The Metropolitan Opera encore: Aida (8/5, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), “DCI ’26: Big, Loud & Live” (Drum Corps International championships) (8/6, 5:30 p.m., simulcast) *single screenings daily
@ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents “Summer Films on the Quad” feat. PROJECT HAIL MARY (8/6, 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 Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
“End of Summer Movie Series” feat. DIRTY DANCING (1987) (8/1, 7 p.m.), BACK TO THE FUTURE (8/7, 7 p.m.), and HOOK (8/14, 7 p.m.)
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (Screen 1 & 2) (7/31-8/1), SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (Screen 1), THE SANDLOT (Screen 2) (8/2-8/6)
@ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (7/31-8/2, 8/6 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
STAND BY ME (7/31, 8/2, 7 p.m.; 8/1, 3 p.m.), THE BIG CHILL (8/1, 7 p.m.; 8/2, 3 p.m.), DESPICABLE ME 4 (animation) (8/3, 1 p.m.; 8/5, 7 p.m.), THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (8/4, 7 p.m.), ROSE OF NEVADA (8/6-8/7, 7 p.m.)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (7/31-8/2)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, YOUNG WASHINGTON (Screen 1), SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, MOANA (Screen 2) (7/31-8/1, 8/5-8/6)
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.
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
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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