Now Showing lists independent and foreign films on their first theatrical run in the United States.

“Nobody is making original movies”

“Nobody is making INDIES ANYMORE”

They are.

Independent and international films open in U.S. theaters every week, but with much smaller marketing budgets and increasingly short theatrical windows, many of these films disappear before audiences even know they existed.

Meanwhile, the American film industry has undergone rapid consolidation.
Major studios have merged into major media conglomerates. Backed by billions, their mass marketing campaigns aim to maximize profits, not aid in cultural discovery.

Independent films lack corporate backing, and thus, visibility.

Now Showing makes it easy to know what independent films are now in theaters, and where to see them.

We focus on truly independent releases — not “indie-style” productions from major studio subsidiaries.
Our goal is clarity about what independence means in theatrical distribution.

We consolidate the essential information that’s otherwise scattered:
what’s playing now, each film’s official website, and where to get tickets.

The info can be found here on the website, or can be sent directly to your inbox once a week.

Submit a Film

Know an independent or foreign film coming to a theater near you?
Learn more about our rules and submit a listing here.

Questions?

  • Now Showing lists independent and foreign films on their first theatrical run in the United States.

    These films are financed and produced outside of the studio system.

  • We define the studio system as the eight class “A” members of the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture + TV Producers).

    This includes the major studios: Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Pictures, and Sony. It also includes the major streamers: Netflix, Apple, and Amazon.

    It also includes all of their subsidiaries or their parent company’s subsidiaries.

  • Subsidiaries are businesses controlled by a parent company.

    We do not list films made by the subsidiaries of the eight major media conglomerates. This partial list shows what film related businesses the parent company (in parenthesis) owns.

    Last Updated: January 14th, 2026

    Universal Studios (NBCUniversal/Comcast) includes Focus Features, Working Title Films, Dreamworks Animation, Illumination, Amblin (minority), Peacock, Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and more

    Paramount Pictures (Paramount Skydance) includes Miramax (49%), Showtime, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Republic Films, Pluto TV and more

    Warner Bros. (Warner Bros. Discovery) includes New Line Cinema, HBO, Cinemax, DC Studios, Cartoon Network, CNN, TruTV, Hanna-Barbera, Castle Rock, Turner Entertainment, Max, Discovery + and more

    Walt Disney Studios (Walt Disney Co.) includes 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox), Searchlight Pictures, Marvel Studios, The Muppets Studio, Lucasfilm, Pixar, National Geographic Doc Films (73%), ESPN Films (80%), Freeform, Disney+, Hulu and more

    Sony Pictures (Sony) includes Columbia Pictures, Tristar Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, Stage 6 Films, Crunchyroll, Imageworks, Destination Films and more

    Amazon MGM (Amazon) includes Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists, Orion Pictures, American International Pictures, Lightworkers Media, Prime Video and more

  • We consider 4 or more showings in physical theaters, in a single week, to be a theatrical run.

    This does not include screenings that are part of film festivals, or other one-off screenings.

  • This website is run by one tired filmmaker. This is not my job.