

Once Upon a Time in a Cinema
2026-05-01 · 92 min · ★ 6.5
Earl Clancy, a cinema owner on the edge, battles a series of disasters while juggling personal turmoil and the chaos of a packed Friday night crowd. Told in real time over the course of the movie playing in the cinema (Breathless, starring Richard Gere).
Trailers are previews, not full movies.
No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.
Production details
- Directors
- David Gleeson
- Production companies
- Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, uMedia, Wide Eye Films, Egoli Tossell Pictures
- Countries
- Ireland, Belgium, Germany
- Status
- Released
- Revenue
- USD 24,853
Top Cast
Colin MorganEarl Clancy
Calam LynchGerald Clancy
India MullenLayla
Niamh CusackMrs. Healy
Stanley TownsendHarry Conway
Elaine O'DwyerAlma
Ryan BurkeJoe Gorman
Andrew BennettSgt. Walsh
Aidan CroweGus
Mikey CaseyCocky Stoner (as Michael Casey)Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.
Where to watch
Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.
Rental
Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Purchase
Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
View authorized watch options on TMDbSeasons & episodes
Recommendations

Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.

Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

Inspired by true and harrowing events, an ordinary man finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his son and pregnant wife if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.

Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.

Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?

On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.

The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

Frank Rautenbach leads a strong cast as Angus Buchan, a Zambian farmer of Scottish heritage, who leaves his farm in the midst of political unrest and racially charged land reclaims and travels south with his family to start a better life in KwaZulu Natal,South Africa.

A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.

A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.

An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.

A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.

A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.

In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.

Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.

Diagnosed with a black hole growing inside her chest and stuck in a loop reliving the last five days of her life, a 55-year-old wife and mother from Miami, Florida decides to solve time travel in order to go back and be the person she always intended to be.

A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.

A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.
Similar titles

An everyday conversation between Marta and her mother turns into a tragic race against the clock when Marta receives a phone call from Iván, her six-year-old son, who is on holiday in France with his father.

In late-'90s suburbia, lonely teenager Owen meets Maddy, who introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world pulsing beneath their own. As time goes on, questions begin to arise about why the show sometimes seems more real than their own lives, as their view of reality begins to crack.


Unable to purchase a $50,000 digital projector, a group of film fanatics in rural Pennsylvania fight to keep a dying drive-in theater alive by screening only vintage 35mm film prints and working entirely for free.

In post-WWII New York, media propaganda, institutional power, and exploitation are interrogated amid the looming threat of a mysterious global virus.


A teenage girl fights for survival and to locate her young sister during the 2011 terrorist attack at a political summer camp on the Norwegian island of Utøya.

Three Mexican filmmakers — Max del Río, Gabriela Ivette Sandoval, and Hugo Villaseñor Alcázar — share their processes and challenges around a single question: How can an independent film get seen? Through the eyes of insiders, the documentary reveals the complex journey behind making cinema visible in Mexico.

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.



A young couple in New York are having problems with their relationship.
Unfolding in real time via one take, four women travel to a mysterious island where a meteorite has recently fallen. Slowly, everything begins to change for the island's denizens, as the women uncover new truths.

An actress struggles to control her emotions during an audition for a TV commercial. Watch here: vimeo.com/429096682


After dying in a sudden accident, Darlene wakes in a liminal cinema, where she meets another lost soul. As the two form a connection, they begin to realise their fates are more deeply intertwined than they ever imagined.

When returning to his hometown with his ill mother, Marlombrando meets again his father and the Drive-in cinema where he spent his childhood. Almeida keeps the cinema functioning with the assistance of only two employees: Paula, who takes care of the projection and the snack bar; Jose, an old friend of Almeida, who helps selling tickets at the cashier and cleaning up the place. The arrival of Marlombrando and the demolition threatening of the Drive-in will bring new directions to their lives.

The year is 1968. Five teenage boys dream of running a movie theater in which they will not show pro-war films. One summer afternoon Giò, Delfo, Max, Ricky and Paolo learn to become trusted friends, indispensable to one another.

A father faces a personal crisis when he discovers his estranged son fleeing a botched drug deal. The two men embark on a violent odyssey that grapples with themes of fatherhood, family and fate.

Over the course of one night, in a single motel room, two filmmakers discover a startling rumor about their lead actor hours before their film premieres a prestigious festival.