‘Carolina Caroline’ & ‘The Last Whale Singer’ New In Moderate Release, ‘Power Ballad’ Expands — Specialty Preview
TIFF-premiering romantic crime thriller Carolina Caroline and animated adventure The Last Whale Singer open in moderate release. The Little Sister from Cannes, documentary Jack Johnson: SURFILMUSIC, She’s The He and anime Jinsei are new limited debuts. John Carney’s Power Ballad with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas expands to 1,275 screens after a nice launch on ten last week for the film, which is Rotten Tomatoes Fresh at 85% with critics, 83% with audiences.
Carolina Caroline from Magnolia Pictures, starring Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner, opens at 200+ theaters. Directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier, written by Tom Dean, it also stars Kyra Sedgwick and Jon Gries. A young woman’s desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man and together they embark on a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast. Features a wide-ranging country music soundtrack. At 96% with RT critics off 47 reviews.
Viva Kids opens underwater family adventure The Last Whale Singer on 350 screens, about 70% of the runs at AMC and Regal locations. Directed by Reza Memari, who wrote the screenplay with Greg Nix. Prianka, Vincent Tong and Lisa Oritz lead the voice cast. When a monstrous creature escapes from a melting iceberg, a self-doubting teenage humpback whale named Victor must face his fears and dive into the darkest depths with his friends, to summon a mystical song that can save the oceans from destruction.
Strand Releasing debuts The Little Sister at Lincoln Center in NY, adding two Laemmle locations in LA next week. The Cannes-premiering coming of age drama by Hafsia Herzi is 89% with RT critics off 35 reviews, see Deadline’s here. Herzi wrote the screenplay adapted from the semi-autobiographical 2022 novel The Last One by Fatima Daas. Stars Nadia Melliti with Park Ji-min, Amina Ben Mohamed, Rita Benmannana, Melissa Guers. “The story of a young gay Muslim woman’s sexual awakening, Herzi confidently takes what could have been a traditional coming-out tale and turns it into something altogether more defiant, a character study that takes place in the no-man’s-land between the oppressive certainties of childhood and the intoxicating freedoms of early adulthood,” wrote Deadline’s Damon Wise of the film.
Jack Johnson: SURFILMUSIC will be on 13 screens this weekend and is booked at 100 locations through mid-July with distributor Evan Saxon Productions. The documentary by recording artist, filmmaker and surfer Jack Johnson and director Emmett Malloy has sold out shows or close to it at a number of theaters including Regal Irvine, Regal Sherman Oaks, La Paloma (Encinitas) and Laemmle Monica Film Center.
Johnson’s evolution from surfer to filmmaker to musician as his early years making surf films with close friends became a foundation for a much broader creative life. The film blends footage from those formative surf films and Johnson’s personal and family archives with present-day reflections. Features Johnson, Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Gerry Lopez, Chris Malloy, G. Love, Ben Harper, John Florence, Emmett Malloy, Kim Johnson and more. Score by Johnson and Hermanos Gutiérrez.
Reject projects for Saxon, the former president and head of international distribution at Abramorama who’s spent years bringing music content to the big screen, include documentaries Billy Idol Should Be Dead and Linda Perry: Let it Die Here.
Comedy She’s The He from Obscured Releasing opens for a week run at the IFC Center and Houston’s River Oaks Theatre, with bookings in select markets through August. Opens at LA’s Laemmle Glendale June 19. Directed by Siobhan McCarthy. On the last week of high school, Ethan (Misha Osherovich) and Alex (Nico Carney) pretend to be trans women to quash rumors they are gay and get Alex closer to his crush, Sasha. After putting on a dress, however, Ethan realizes she really is trans and comes out to Alex. Premiered at SXSW 2025, going on to play at BFI Flare and NewFest. Osherovich received a Spirit Award for as Breakthrough Performer. At 100% with RT critics off 24 reviews.
Greenwich Entertainment opens Japanese animated drama Jinsei at the IFC Center in New York. World premiere in the Contrechamp section at Annecy with a North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival. Spanning the century-long life and spiritual journey of a J-pop star, voiced by rapper Ace Cool, it unfolds over ten chapters as the hero navigates school, the music industry and idol status.
