Drake finally shows his hand on FOMO, and it's a film, dropping Monday night as 'Brand New Day' rewrites box office history
After weeks of cryptic clues and an Iron Man suit spotted at a Toronto amusement park, Drake confirmed Saturday that 'Fear of Missing Out' is a film, not an album. Meanwhile, 'Practical Magic 2' just knocked Spider-Man off its six-week perch, though the web-slinger may not need the sympathy.
In brief
Drake finally shows his hand on FOMO, and it's a film, not an album
For six weeks Drake kept everyone guessing. Old family photos. A CD jewel case mock-up. Footage of him filming at a Toronto amusement park in an Iron Man suit. And then, on Saturday morning, he answered the question nobody could quite crack: Variety reports that Drake dropped a teaser on September 12 confirming that Fear of Missing Out is "a not so short film," set to premiere Tuesday, September 15, at 9 p.m. ET on YouTube.
Not an album. Not a tour announcement. A film.
Complex has the fullest account of how the rollout unfolded. It began quietly on August 12 with a family photo carousel captioned "FOMO 2026," building through cryptic posts, a CD jewel case image, and sightings of Drake filming near a Ferris wheel at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition in an Iron Man suit. Drake says the film was "directed and scored by the family," which is the kind of detail that raises more questions than it answers.
The trailer footage shows him on a bright green yacht on the water, with a woman speaking in the background asking, "What if I told you there were two versions of your life?" The philosophical narration immediately gave fans something else to investigate, with speculation already building around the identity of the woman speaking and exactly how much music will be woven into the project.
That question is still live. Rolling Stone notes that "Fear of Missing Out" is scheduled to reveal itself on Sept. 15 at 9 p.m. on YouTube, though it remains unclear whether that time is Eastern, Pacific, or local. Billboard covered the teaser as a major music news item the same day it dropped, and The Source pointed out the personal dimension: Drake says the film was "directed and scored by the family," with the OVO Sound account amplifying the announcement on September 12.
The Canadian rapper has remained active in 2026, releasing three albums on May 15: ICEMAN, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR. Drake has already dropped three albums this year, and a fourth would certainly raise some eyebrows. On the New Rory & Mal podcast, Mal floated the idea that FOMO could be a smaller pack of unreleased songs, almost in the spirit of Drake's Scary Hours release, while making clear he had no inside information from Drake. Producers London Cyr and B4uuuuuuuuu both reposted the FOMO teaser, London Cyr previously co-produced "Plot Twist" from ICEMAN. That's the breadcrumb music fans are treating as a real clue.
Earlier this week, Drake made a surprise appearance at Don Toliver's concert in Toronto, performing tracks from his Iceman LP live for the first time. "I just wanna thank Don for having me out tonight," Drake told the crowd. "This is my first time performing the album since it dropped." Whether that cameo connects to FOMO or is simply a separate moment in a very busy 2026 remains unclear.
'Practical Magic 2' dethrones Spider-Man, while Spider-Man quietly makes history
The weekend's other massive story ran on a parallel track. Variety reports that after a six-week streak at No. 1, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" was finally dethroned by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's mystical sequel, "Practical Magic 2."
"Practical Magic 2" earned a $13 million opening day from 4,146 locations, setting the $75 million-budgeted film up for a $28 million to $30 million domestic opening weekend. Deadline put the final weekend number at around $30 million, calling it "in the realm of Sandra Bullock openings." The studio had hoped for $30 million to $35 million, per The Hollywood Reporter. Bullock and Kidman reprise their roles as the Owens sisters from the 1998 original that tapped out at $46 million domestically for the entirety of its initial run.
The sequel has had a tough time mystifying critics, holding a 35 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, only slightly improved over the score of 29 for the original. Audience scores told a different story. CinemaScore polls showed an opening-night crowd that was 75% female, with the highest grades coming from the 35 to 49 demo, who gave the film an A-. The sequel takes place 25 years after the original 1998 cult classic, as the sisters try to break their family curse along with Sally's daughters Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams).
Warner Bros. reportedly enters September without a single 2026 release past $100 million domestic, its first time in that position in a quarter-century outside the pandemic, so a No. 1 opening here carries more weight than the raw figure suggests.
Meanwhile the film being dethroned is anything but a loser. Spider-Man: Brand New Day took second place with $8.7 million in its seventh weekend, putting it on course to pass "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" as the all-time domestic box office record holder. Sony's fourth "Spider-Man" adaptation has generated $2.4 billion globally, ranking as the third-biggest release ever behind 2009's "Avatar" ($2.9 billion) and "Avengers: Endgame" ($2.7 billion). The film captured a record-setting $360 million in its domestic debut, officially the biggest debut in box office history.
Also opening this weekend: Disney's music documentary "Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger," targeting a $5 million to $7 million opening, follows Liam and Noel Gallagher as they reunite for the first time since 2009 on their world tour.
Two events, two very different vibes. One is Drake doing what Drake does: stretching out a mystery until the last possible second, then moving the goalposts just enough to keep everyone watching. The other is the slow-motion conclusion of the biggest domestic box office run in the history of American cinema, playing out in seventh-weekend numbers like a victory lap nobody expected to see this late in the season. Both land Monday night. The FOMO YouTube stream goes live at 9 p.m. ET. The final "Brand New Day" domestic total clicks over sometime between now and then.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
