This week’s entertainment news includes a wide array of recognizable names. Here’s what’s happening.
Two institutions that helped shape Christian entertainment are marking a half-century of ministry while looking toward their next chapters. Sight & Sound is expanding its biblical storytelling across stages and screens, while Petra is introducing its music to another generation through a new album and feature film.
Also making news are Julie Andrews’ retirement from on-screen acting, a Christian actress finding the gospel in “The Phantom of the Opera,” Dolly Parton’s unusual musical time capsule and another round of streaming price increases.
Sight & Sound marks 50 years of biblical storytelling
Sight & Sound is celebrating 50 years of bringing Scripture and Christian history to life through theater, streaming and movies.
The company began with traveling multimedia presentations in rural Pennsylvania in 1976. It now operates theaters in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Branson, Missouri, and says its productions have reached more than 40 million people. The anniversary celebration includes the new Lancaster production “Joshua” and the release of Sight & Sound Films’ second feature, “A Great Awakening.”
“Throughout our story, God has led the way for seas to part and giants to fall,” CEO Matt Neff said.
The company also operates a streaming service available in 200 countries and territories. “Daniel” will debut in Branson in 2027, after which the theater plans to present a different production each year. A third feature film and another stage production also are in development.
Petra reaches a new generation through movie and album
Christian rock pioneer Petra is pairing 50 years of ministry with new work, including its first studio album in more than two decades and a feature film built around its music.
Founder Bob Hartman and longtime lead singer John Schlitt told CCM Magazine that the band’s staying power comes from a message centered on Christ.
“I think Petra’s music is timeless,” Hartman said. “The message never changes.”
The new movie, “Beyond Belief,” opened in theaters Aug. 28. Set in the 1980s, it uses Petra songs to tell a new story rather than offering a band biography. Hartman and Schlitt endorsed the production and appear in cameos.
Petra also released “Hope,” a 10-song project that Schlitt said was repeatedly reworked because the band wanted a final product worthy of its legacy. Hartman called “Looking Back,” a reflection on God’s faithfulness, his favorite track.
Julie Andrews retires from on-screen acting
Julie Andrews says her seven-decade career before the camera has come to an end, although the 90-year-old star is not leaving creative work entirely.
Andrews confirmed her decision while explaining why she declined an invitation to return as Queen Clarisse Renaldi in “The Princess Diaries 3.”
“I think I’m retired, really,” Andrews told InStyle. She said turning down the role was difficult but believes the new installment can flourish without her character.
Andrews played the queen opposite Anne Hathaway in the 2001 original and its 2004 sequel. Hathaway will return as Mia Thermopolis in the third film.
Andrews continues to voice Lady Whistledown in Netflix’s “Bridgerton,” narrate a Jane Austen podcast and write children’s books with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. A Disney+ documentary about her life is planned for 2027.
‘Phantom’ actress finds gospel message in Christine’s mercy
Actress Francesca Mehrotra sees more than romance and spectacle in “The Phantom of the Opera.” She believes Christine Daaé’s decision to show mercy to the man who betrayed and terrorized her reflects the gospel.
Mehrotra, a Catholic soprano playing Christine in the immersive New York production “Masquerade,” told The Christian Post that the story carries an “inherently Christ-like message.”
Christine ultimately responds to the Phantom’s deception and violence with compassion, recognizing the rejection and pain that helped shape him.
“I’ve been a recipient of great mercy,” Mehrotra said. “So what a gift to play a character that has to give such mercy.”
The production places masked audience members inside scenes from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. Mehrotra said the eventual removal of those masks underscores another spiritual truth: God sees the whole person, including the parts people try to hide.
Dolly Parton left a song locked away until 2046
Dolly Parton left fans one final musical mystery: an unheard song sealed inside a box that is not supposed to be opened until Jan. 19, 2046, what would have been her 100th birthday.
Parton wrote and recorded “My Place in History” in 2015 for the opening of Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, according to The Christian Post.
The recording remains inside a time capsule at the resort along with Parton’s instructions and a CD player. She joked during a 2022 television appearance that she wanted to dig it up and make sure the song was as good as she remembered.
“If any of you are around when they open that box, I hope you enjoy my song,” she said.
Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80. Her family and fellow artists remembered her music, generosity and Christian faith.
‘Midwinter Break’ treats marriage and faith with seriousness
“Midwinter Break” is not marketed as a conventional Christian movie, but faith plays a central role in its quiet examination of a long marriage in trouble.
Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds play Stella and Gerry, a late-middle-aged couple whose trip to Amsterdam exposes old wounds and conflicting hopes for the future. A traumatic event from Stella’s past and an unfulfilled spiritual promise gradually move to the center of the story.
In his Hollywood in Toto review, Christian Toto said the screenplay treats religious faith “with respect and reverence” rather than using it as decoration or a shortcut to an easy conclusion.
The deliberately paced drama asks whether faith can help repair a relationship strained by grief, disappointment and secrets. Toto praised Manville and Hinds for conveying the endurance and complexity of a decades-old marriage, calling the film a “marital X-ray with a powerful dose of faith.”
Streaming costs rise again for families
Families assembling their own mix of streaming services are facing another round of price increases.
Apple raised the monthly price of Apple TV from $12.99 to $14.99 and its annual plan from $99 to $119. The Apple One individual package also increased from $19.95 to $21.95 per month, according to Variety.
The service launched in 2019 at $4.99 per month. The latest increase means its monthly price has tripled in seven years.
Apple is hardly alone. Other major streaming companies, including Netflix, Peacock, Paramount+, Disney+ and HBO Max, also have raised prices or announced increases during 2026.
The changes add pressure to household entertainment budgets and weaken streaming’s original appeal as a less expensive alternative to cable. Consumers can still limit costs by rotating subscriptions and canceling services between shows they want to watch.
