HOME SPOTLIGHT: TOP STORY

MacGuffin in cinema represented by a mysterious briefcase driving a film's narrative.

How Filmmakers Make the MacGuffin Matter

Anuva Sharma October 31, 2026

We can spend an entire film chasing something, only to realise that the chase was never really about the thing itself. A mysterious object is being chased, a person has to be found, a secret has to be uncovered. The characters are willing to risk almost everything to get to it. And yet, sometimes, the thing they are chasing is not really what the film is about at all. This

TRENDING

Aadarsha Kutumbam Leads India Box Office With ₹31.4 Cr

India Box Office: Aadarsha Kutumbam Leads Weekend With ₹31.4 Crore

Maitri Modi

Resident Evil stays No. 1 in China for a fourth weekend, while Chiikawa leads South Korea as both films dominate their respective box offices.

Resident Evil and Chiikawa Hold No. 1 Spots in China and South Korea for Fourth Weekend

Bhoomi Mekale

Austin Film Festival 2026 Script and Film Winners

Austin Film Festival Announces 2026 Script and Film Competition Winners

Desk

Mohabat Wins Ji.hlava 2026's Top Documentary Award

Alex Gibney-Produced Mohabat Wins Ji.hlava’s Top Award for Its Intimate Portrait of a Young Afghan Boy

Bhoomi Mekale

Ramayana Advance Booking Crosses ₹31 Crore in India

Ramayana Advance Booking Crosses ₹31 Crore in India; Overseas Pre-Sales Near $3 Million

Maitri Modi

Martin Scorsese recalls how the 2014 Sony hack derailed his planned Cleopatra film starring Angelina Jolie, with a screenplay by Eric Roth.

Martin Scorsese Says Seth Rogen and the Sony Hack ‘Ruined’ His Planned Cleopatra Film With Angelina Jolie

Desk

MOST POPULAR

You Can See Everything narrowly beats Clayface at the North American box office, while Resident Evil crosses $400 million worldwide. — You Can See Everything Edges Out Clayface in Close North American Box Office Race as Halloween Weekend Slows Theatrical Business

Sharad Jaiswal
The North American box office experienced one of its weakest weekends of the year, with estimated overall ticket sales hovering around $60 million as Halloween fell on Saturday and cinema...

Ah Girl Wins Best Asian Feature Film at SGIFF 2026

Ah Girl Wins Best Film at Singapore’s Silver Screen Awards After a Decade-Long Journey

Japan's Film Industry Explores New Financing Models

Japan’s Film Industry Looks Beyond the Production Committee Model as New Film Funds Emerge

Ranveer Singh in Dhurandhar as the film dominates the IIFA Awards 2026 winners list with 12 awards.

IIFA Awards 2026: Dhurandhar Dominates With 12 Wins as Saiyaara and Chhaava Also Score Big

The Mosquito Bowl Review Roundup: Critics Divided Over Peter Berg’s WWII Drama, Praising Its Combat Scenes but Questioning Its Emotional Depth

The Mosquito Bowl Review Roundup: Critics Divided Over Peter Berg’s WWII Drama, Praising Its Combat…

ailer 2 leads the India box office weekend rankings for October 23–25, 2026

India Box Office: Jailer 2 Holds Strong in Second Weekend as Udta Teer Opens to…

FEATURED STORIES

SPECIAL FEATURES

HOME

Green Room: How Patrick Stewart’s Casting Saved Jeremy Saulnier’s Film

Green Room: How Patrick Stewart’s Casting Saved Jeremy Saulnier’s Film

Patrick Stewart, the actor known for playing Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor X in X-Men

Patrick Stewart Dies at 86: Remembering the Actor Behind Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X

Patrick Stewart Dies at 86: Remembering the Actor Behind Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, director of It Was Just an Accident, who faces a new prison sentence in Iran.

Jafar Panahi Faces Five Years in Prison as His Cinema Continues to Challenge Iran’s Restrictions

Jafar Panahi Faces Five Years in Prison as His Cinema Continues to Challenge Iran’s Restrictions

Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan in Udta Teer, the spy comedy denied theatrical screening permission in Nepal.

Why Nepal Blocked Udta Teer, the India-Pakistan Spy Comedy That Hit a Diplomatic Roadblock

Why Nepal Blocked Udta Teer, the India-Pakistan Spy Comedy That Hit a Diplomatic Roadblock

Nana Patekar in a career-spanning tribute remembering his iconic film roles

Nana Patekar Dies at 75: Remembering the Characters That Gave Indian Cinema Some of Its Most Enduring Performances

Nana Patekar Dies at 75: Remembering the Characters That Gave Indian Cinema Some of Its Most Enduring Performances

Paramount-Warner Bros. merger reshapes Hollywood leadership under Skydance

Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Reshapes Hollywood Leadership as Skydance Takes Form

Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Reshapes Hollywood Leadership as Skydance Takes Form

IN DEPTH ARTICLES

MacGuffin in cinema represented by a mysterious briefcase driving a film's narrative.

How Filmmakers Make the MacGuffin Matter

How Filmmakers Make the MacGuffin Matter

Cinema screen representing the emotional connection between films and audiences

Where Does a Film Actually Exist?

Where Does a Film Actually Exist?

Iconic Hindi cinema actors representing the relationship between stardom and storytelling

When Actors Become Bigger Than the Film in Hindi Cinema

When Actors Become Bigger Than the Film in Hindi Cinema

French New Wave cinema and its influence on modern filmmaking

How French Cinema Changed the Rules of Filmmaking

How French Cinema Changed the Rules of Filmmaking

Iranian cinema and its use of symbolism, silence and visual storytelling.

How Iranian Cinema Learnt the Power of Showing Less and Saying More

How Iranian Cinema Learnt the Power of Showing Less and Saying More

Male and female actors ageing differently in Hindi cinema

The Unequal Way Men and Women Age in Hindi Cinema

The Unequal Way Men and Women Age in Hindi Cinema

BOX-OFFICE

Aadarsha Kutumbam Leads India Box Office With ₹31.4 Cr — India Box Office: Aadarsha Kutumbam Leads Weekend With ₹31.4 Crore

Maitri Modi
The Indian box office for the October 30–November 1 weekend was led by the Telugu release Aadarsha Kutumbam House No: 47, which collected ₹31.4 crore. Jailer 2 followed in second place with ₹26.4 crore, while the Hindi spy comedy Udta...

Resident Evil stays No. 1 in China for a fourth weekend, while Chiikawa leads South Korea as both films dominate their respective box offices.

Resident Evil and Chiikawa Hold No. 1 Spots in China and South Korea for Fourth Weekend

You Can See Everything narrowly beats Clayface at the North American box office, while Resident Evil crosses $400 million worldwide.

You Can See Everything Edges Out Clayface in Close North American Box Office Race as Halloween Weekend Slows Theatrical Business

Ramayana Advance Booking Crosses ₹31 Crore in India

Ramayana Advance Booking Crosses ₹31 Crore in India; Overseas Pre-Sales Near $3 Million

Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram in Ramayana Part 1 ahead of its November 5 theatrical release

Ramayana Advance Booking Crosses ₹15.57 Crore, Hindi Version Leads With Seven Days to Go

Ramayana vs Godzilla Minus Zero: The IMAX Battle

Ramayana vs Godzilla Minus Zero: How the IMAX Screen Battle Could Reshape Their India Releases

FESTIVAL AND AWARDS

MOVIE ANALYSIS

RECENT OTT RELEASES

Vinay Pathak's Chidiya is now available on Waves Ott

‘Chidiya’ Now Streaming on WAVES OTT, Bringing Its Story of Childhood Dreams to a Wider Audience

Milly Alcock as Supergirl in DC Studios’ Supergirl

‘Supergirl’ Lands on HBO Max With a Closer Look at Its Ambitious Production

Alpha Starts Streaming on Netflix: Alia Bhatt and Sharvari’s YRF Spy Film

Alpha Begins Streaming on Netflix, Bringing YRF’s Female-Led Spy Film to Audiences

Toy Story 5 Heads to Disney+ After $1 Billion Global Box Office Run

Toy Story 5 Heads to Disney+ After $1 Billion Global Box Office Run

Hallmark's Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story Premieres Oct. 17

Hallmark’s Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story Brings Football and Christmas to Chicago This October

'The Devil Wears Prada 2' Tops Disney+ Streaming Charts

‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Becomes Disney’s Biggest Live-Action Streaming Debut Since Deadpool & Wolverine

Where to Watch Mother Mary: Streaming Guide

Where to Watch Mother Mary: Anne Hathaway’s A24 Drama Heads to Streaming

Jaafar Jackson in Micheal as Lionsgate gives a positive update on Michael 2 after the Michael Jackson biopic became a major global box office success.

‘Michael’ Sets Starz Streaming Release Date Following $1 Billion Box Office Run

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

CULT CLASSICS OF 50'S ON PRIME VIDEO

HOME

Vertigo (1958)

HOME

The Ten Commandments (1956)

The Ten Commandments (1956)

HOME

Sayonara (1957)

Sayonara (1957)

HOME

Ben-Hur (1959)

HOME

Twelve Angry Men (1957)

Twelve Angry Men (1957)

UPCOMING RELEASES

AGATHA CHRISTIE'S FILMS ON PRIME VIDEO

HOME

Gumnaam (1965)

HOME

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

HOME

Crooked House (2017)

Crooked House (2017)

HOME

Death on the Nile (2022)

Death on the Nile (2022)

HOME

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

WEB STORIES

When Santa Went Wrong at the Movies

Best Biopic Movies of All Time

Top 10 Most Iconic Bollywood Villains Ever

Top 10 Female Directors You Should Know

The Vicky Kaushal Transformation: From Masaan to Chhaava

Films with the Most Iconic Opening Scenes

What Makes These 5 Film Festivals a Dream for Every Director?

The Emotional Palette: How Color Shapes Storytelling in Film

Jim Carrey Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

Through Their Eyes: The Power of Limited Perspectives in Cinema

Mission: Impossible – Impossible Missions Through the Years

Manoj Kumar: The Bollywood Icon Who Made India His Hero

Top 5 Must-Watch Marathi Films

Top 10 Iconic Bollywood Mujra Performances

10 Times South Korean Cinema Surprised the World

Woody Allen’s 10 Best Films: Classics, Cult & Masterpieces!