Hot This Week: June 24

We hope you and your patrons like new titles, because there are a whole slew of them on the docket this week. The superhero blockbuster Captain Marvel leads three new movies on the list. Likewise, the first new music from the Jonas Brothers in ten years tops three new albums on this week's chart. Five of the fiction titles are new this week, with bestselling author Jennifer Weiner's new novel leading the way at #3. In non-fiction, two new titles include a book from CNN anchor Jim Acosta.

Movies 

1. Captain Marvel (Blu-ray | 4K)
2. Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral (Blu-ray)
3. Five Feet Apart (Blu-ray)
4. The Upside (Blu-ray)
5. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Blu-ray | 4K)
6. Isn't It Romantic (Blu-ray)
7. Cold Pursuit (Blu-ray | 4K)
8. Captive State (Blu-ray)
9. Drunk Parents
10. Fighting with My Family (Blu-ray)

CD

1. Jonas Brothers, Happiness Begins
2. Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
3. Santana, Africa Speaks
4. Khalid, Free Spirit
5. DJ Khaled, Father of Asahd
6. Elton John, Diamonds
7. Avicii, Tim
8. Ariana Grande, Thank U, Next
9. Luke Combs, This One's for You
10. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You

Fiction

1. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
2. Unsolved, James Patterson and David Ellis
3. Mrs. Everything, Jennifer Weiner
4. City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert
5. Tom Clancy: Enemy Contact, Mike Maden
6. The Oracle, Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell
7. Recursion, Blake Crouch
8. Redemption, David Baldacci
9. The Summer Guests, Mary Alice Monroe
10. Queen Bee, Dorothea Benton Frank

Non-Fiction

1. Unfreedom of the Press, Mark R. Levin
2. The Pioneers, David McCullough
3. Educated, Tara Westover
4. Becoming, Michelle Obama
5. Sea Stories, William H. McRaven
6. Siege, Michael Wolff
7. The British Are Coming, Rick Atkinson
8. The Enemy of the People, Jim Acosta
9. The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates
10. Every Man a Hero, Ray Lambert and Jim DeFelice

Hot This Week: June 17

There are two new movies your patrons will be clamoring for this week, led by the final outing of Tyler Perry's beloved Madea. Thomas Rhett lands a new album at the top of the music chart, while Rocketman brings Elton John's latest compilation into the spotlight as well. Fully half of the fiction list is made up of new novels, while three new books make their way onto the non-fiction list.

Movies 

1. Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral (Blu-ray)
2. The Upside (Blu-ray)
3. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Blu-ray | 4K)
4. Isn't It Romantic (Blu-ray)
5. Drunk Parents
6. Cold Pursuit (Blu-ray | 4K)
7. The Kid (Blu-ray)
8. Fighting with My Family (Blu-ray)
9. Aquaman (Blu-ray | 4K)
10. The Mule (Blu-ray | 4K)

CD

1. Thomas Rhett, Center Point Road
2. Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
3. DJ Khaled, Father of Asahd
4. Khalid, Free Spirit
5. Elton John, Diamonds
6. Aladdin Soundtrack
7. Ariana Grande, Thank U, Next
8. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You
9. Luke Combs, This One's for You
10. Post Malone, Beerbongs & Bentleys

Fiction

1. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
2. City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert
3. Unsolved, James Patterson and David Ellis
4. Fall, Neal Stephenson
5. Queen Bee, Dorothea Benton Frank
6. The Guest Book, Sarah Blake
7. Redemption, David Baldacci
8. Skin Game, Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall
9. Sunset Beach, Mary Kay Andrews
10. Searching for Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok

Non-Fiction

1. Unfreedom of the Press, Mark R. Levin
2. The Pioneers, David McCullough
3. Educated, Tara Westover
4. Siege, Michael Wolff
5. Becoming, Michelle Obama
6. Sea Stories, William H. McRaven
7. The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates
8. The British Are Coming, Rick Atkinson
9. Naturally Tan, Tan France
10. The Conservative Sensibility, George F. Will

Big Franchises Wind Down in 2019

Written by Jon Williams

There are certain media franchises that become so popular that they transcend just the world of entertainment and become cultural touchstones. For three such franchises, 2019 is they year in which they will come to an end—or at least wind down their current iterations. Let’s take a look at them.

On April 26, Avengers: Endgame was released into theaters in North America. It debuted with a bang, taking in the largest opening-weekend box office gross of all time with more than $350 million. It has steadily added to that total and now stands as the second on the list of highest-grossing films of all time. While it seems unlikely to take over the top spot, it’s still in theaters and will definitely add to its total, currently over $825 million. Endgame is the culmination of 22 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that started with Iron Man in 2008. While this movie may have brought the story of the Avengers to a close, the same certainly can’t be said for the MCU as a whole. On the immediate horizon is Spider-Man: Far from Home, the sequel to 2017’s Homecoming, with Tom Holland starring as the titular webslinger. This will mark the formal end to “Phase Three” of the MCU, but future plans include a Black Widow movie featuring Scarlett Johansson’s character, a Black Panther sequel, a third Guardians of the Galaxy installment, and plenty more on screens both big and small. There is definitely plenty to look forward to from Marvel in the future, although whether it continues to work together toward one cohesive story remains to be seen.

The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones premiered before that, on April 14, and came to its conclusion on May 19. Before the season began, we examined the likelihood of broken ratings records, particularly for the series finale. Those predictions came true, as the season’s sixth episode, the show’s last, drew more than 19.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched series finale in history for a show on cable. While the final season drew mixed reviews from fans and critics, viewership numbers remained strong throughout, and hunger for related content has kept author George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, a tale that begins centuries before the events of the show, on the bestseller list since its publication last November. With the show in the rearview mirror, fans will have to be content with Fire & Blood to hold them over for now, but there are more stories to come. For one thing, Martin still has two books left in his Song of Ice & Fire, the novel series that inspired the show. It has been eight years since the last, A Dance with Dragons, was published, and while no date has yet been announced for the arrival of the next, The Winds of Winter, recent updates from Martin have fans optimistic that it will be finished in the not-too-distant future. HBO also has plans for a number of companion shows, with at least one currently going forward with Naomi Watts set to star.

Then, later this year, the Star Wars sequel trilogy will come to a close when Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker comes out on December 20. Of course, this echoes 1983, when Return of the Jedi concluded the original trilogy, and 2005, when Revenge of the Sith did the same for the prequel trilogy; however, it’s actually a culmination of all three, as The Rise of Skywalker will drop the curtain on the saga of Anakin Skywalker and his offspring. The current trilogy began in 2015 with The Force Awakens, the one film that Avengers: Endgame trails on the all-time box office list, and continued with The Last Jedi in 2017. After this film there will be a short hiatus for Star Wars on the big screen, but it definitely will be back—a new film series, set in a different era from the Skywalker films, is set to begin in December 2022 with Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss at the helm. In the meantime, Pedro Pascal will star in the upcoming TV show The Mandalorian, to premiere November 12 of this year, and Diego Luna will reprise his role from the standalone blockbuster Rogue One in another, as-yet-unnamed TV series.

So while these beloved franchises may be coming to a close, each in its own way, fans can take comfort in the fact that there are still plenty of stories to come in the respective universes. And patrons will always be eager to revisit these favorites or immerse themselves for the first time. Use the links above to put these great movies and TV shows on your shelves, and SmartBrowse on our website for a plethora of related content.

Hot This Week: June 10

The top titles from last week remained strong, including the top four movies. The soundtrack to the hit remake of the Disney classic Aladdin joins the music chart. In fiction, Dorothea Benton Frank and Mary Beth Keane land new titles on the list, while non-fiction sees the addition of a book from Tony Horwitz.

Movies 

1. The Upside (Blu-ray)
2. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Blu-ray | 4K)
3. Isn't It Romantic (Blu-ray)
4. Cold Pursuit (Blu-ray | 4K)
5. Drunk Parents
6. Fighting with My Family (Blu-ray)
7. What Men Want (Blu-ray)
8. Greta (Blu-ray)
9. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (Blu-ray | 4K)
10. Aquaman (Blu-ray | 4K)

CD

1. Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
2. DJ Khaled, Father of Asahd
3. Khalid, Free Spirit
4. Aladdin Soundtrack
5. Ariana Grande, Thank U, Next
6. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You
7. NCT 127, We Are Superhuman
8. Post Malone, Beerbongs & Bentleys
9. Drake, Scorpion
10. Luke Combs, This One's for You

Fiction

1. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
2. Queen Bee, Dorothea Benton Frank
3. The 18th Abduction, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
4. The Guest Book, Sarah Blake
5. Ask Again, Yes, Mary Beth Keane
6. Redemption, David Baldacci
7. Sunset Beach, Mary Kay Andrews
8. Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin
9. The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides
10. Blessing in Disguise, Danielle Steel

Non-Fiction

1. Unfreedom of the Press, Mark R. Levin
2. The Pioneers, David McCullough
3. Educated, Tara Westover
4. Becoming, Michelle Obama
5. Sea Stories, William H. McRaven
6. The Second Mountain, David Brooks
7. The British Are Coming, Rick Atkinson
8. The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates
9. Spying on the South, Tony Horwitz
10. Furious Hours, Casey Cep

Hot This Week: June 3

We charge into June with a full slate of new media your patrons will be looking for. Three new movies are led by the Kevin Hart/Bryan Cranston drama/comedy The Upside. Four new albums make the chart in music, with the new disc from DJ Khaled taking #1. In fiction, a new thriller from Thomas Harris is the only newcomer, while non-fiction sees additions from Mark R. Levin and Admiral William H. McRaven.

Movies 

1. The Upside (Blu-ray)
2. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Blu-ray | 4K)
3. Isn't It Romantic (Blu-ray)
4. Cold Pursuit (Blu-ray | 4K)
5. Fighting with My Family (Blu-ray)
6. What Men Want (Blu-ray)
7. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (Blu-ray | 4K)
8. Glass (Blu-ray | 4K)
9. Happy Death Day 2U (Blu-ray)
10. Serenity (Blu-ray)

CD

1. DJ Khaled, Father of Asahd
2. Billie Eilish, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
3. Khalid, Free Spirit
4. The National, I Am Easy to Find
5. Ariana Grande, Thank U, Next
6. Rammstein, Rammstein
7. Post Malone, Beerbongs & Bentleys
8. Drake, Scorpion
9. Lizzo, Cuz I Love You
10. Luke Combs, This One's for You

Fiction

1. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
2. The 18th Abduction, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
3. Cari Mora, Thomas Harris
4. Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin
5. Redemption, David Baldacci
6. The Guest Book, Sarah Blake
7. Sunset Beach, Mary Kay Andrews
8. Blessing in Disguise, Danielle Steel
9. Neon Prey, John Sandford
10. The Night Window, Dean Koontz

Non-Fiction

1. Unfreedom of the Press, Mark R. Levin
2. The Pioneers, David McCullough
3. Sea Stories, William H. McRaven
4. Educated, Tara Westover
5. Becoming, Michelle Obama
6. The Second Mountain, David Brooks
7. Furious Hours, Casey Cep
8. The British Are Coming, Rick Atkinson
9. The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates
10. Sacred Duty, Tom Cotton