‘Sinners,’ ‘The Sandman,’ a new ‘Trainwreck,’ and the best to stream this holiday weekend: July 3, 2025

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Welcome tothe Gold Ticket, your VIP guide to the best of pop culture for the weekend ahead, curated by the Gold Derby team of experts. (July 3-July 26)

The Gold Ticket

The main stream

How about a bloody good time to go along with the fireworks and picnics this holiday weekend?

Enter (The) Sandman

Nearly three years after its debut, Netflix's acclaimed fantasy series based on the beloved comic book of the same name is making its highly anticipated return for what is sadly just one last adventure. The first six episodes of the season (the final five arrive later this month) find Dream's (Tom Sturridge) world rocked when his past comes back to haunt him and he realizes he’s not exactly the man (anthropomorphic personification) he thought he was. The episodes draw upon the Season of Mists and Brief Lives comics and introduces viewers to the rest of the Endless, including Barry Sloane as Destruction, who has left his realm and whose whereabouts remain unknown even to his siblings, and Esmé Creed-Miles as Delirium, who manages to talk Dream into tracking their brother down. A truly one-of-a-kind series with a unique and utterly engaging world, The Sandman is the awards contender to watch this weekend.

For the queue

Trainwreck: The Cult of American Apparel: While it might not be as obviously foul as the Poop Cruise installment, the latest episode in Netflix's documentary anthology series is bizarrely disturbing in its own right. The special gives an overview of the rise and fall of the popular 2000s fashion brand American Apparel, including how the company hired young people off the street based on pure vibes and threw them into situations where they were mentally and emotionally abused. It all culminates with the brand's downfall after its toxic founder is accused of sexual harassment. Yikes. The episode is now streaming on Netflix.

Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print: HBO's newest documentary is a three-parter that tells the story of the groundbreaking Ms. magazine, which revolutionized print when it launched in the early '70s and dared to put women — and complex issues affecting women — in the spotlight. Using some of the magazine's most iconic covers as topical launching pads, the documentary explores the complexities of creating a women-centric magazine that frequently tackled polarizing topics, and includes interviews with the magazine's co-founders Gloria Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Pat Carbine, and its first editor Suzanne Braun Levine. The documentary is now streaming on Max.

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The Gilded Age: In this weekend's new episode, "Love Is Never Easy," matters of the heart — or perhaps the lack thereof — take center stage as George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha (Carrie Coon) attempt to secure the Duke's hand in marriage for a reluctant Gladys (Taissa Farmiga). Meanwhile, in Newport, Peggy (Denée Benton) and her parents meet Dr. Kirkland's (Jordan Donica) family, who prove to be a handful. The episode airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max.

Home movies

If you have an aversion to banjo-plucking blood-suckers or Irish step dancing, here are some other streaming films for the long weekend:

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl: A24 picked up this Zambian film out of Cannes last year, where writer-director Rungano Nyoni won best director in the Un Certain Regard section. The dark comedy starts with a young woman, Shula (Susan Chardy) finding her uncle’s dead body on the road one night while she drives home dressed as Missy Elliott from the “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” music video. As the family makes funeral preparations, secrets come to light. The film, which has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, will almost certainly be the first film from Zambia you’ve ever seen. It’s now streaming on Max.

The Old Guard 2: Charlize Theron returns for this long-in-the-works sequel to one of Netflix’s most successful original action movies. Theron plays Andy, a formerly immortal warrior who comes out of retirement to fight an immortal who threatens to destroy the world. Victoria Mahoney (Grey’s Anatomy) takes over as director from Gina Prince-Blythewood (The Woman King). KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Chiwetel Ejiofor return from the first film, with Henry Golding and Uma Thurman joining the cast. That's right, it's Furiosa vs. The Bride. That’s a fight that sells itself.

Heads of State: This high concept action comedy stars Idris Elba and John Cena as the British prime minister and the American president, respectively. They don’t get along, but they have to team up when they’re targeted by a terrorist. Priyanka Chopra Jonas also stars as an MI6 agent tasked with protecting the bickering pair. Directed by Nobody helmer Ilya Naishuller, it’s the latest in a long line of straight-to-Prime Video action comedies – it’s Cena’s third in two years, following Ricky Stanicky and Jackpot!

The Luckiest Man in America: Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser stars in this indie drama based on the true story of one of America’s most famous game show controversies. Hauser plays Michael Larson, an Ohio man with a fondness for get-rich-quick schemes, who in 1984 observed and memorized the board patterns for Press Your Luck. Using his knowledge, he went on the show and won over $100k, the largest single-day haul in game show history to that point. He didn’t cheat, exactly; he got one over on CBS. The star-studded cast also includes Walton Goggins, David Strathairn, and Maisie Williams. After premiering at TIFF last year, the film is now streaming on AMC+.

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