With movie theaters fighting tooth and nail to stay open amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many have persisted and continued to show new film releases. A significant number of newly released films since the start of the pandemic have not been snubbed of their nationwide theatrical release, and it seems that this will stay the same for the time being. Here are two recent releases, including a sequel and a critically acclaimed original film.

Also coming next month from writer/director Joachim Trier is The Worst Person in the World, about a young woman struggling to navigate her romantic and career endeavors. In an article for rogerebert.com discussing topics of the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Scout Tafoya said of the film, “It was so smart , and so aware of its place as art in 2021, and so compellingly performed… .”

In addition, film critic Karsten Runquist included the film in his list of top 20 movies of 2021, calling it, “One of the best representations of the human experience that I saw this year, and it has a lot of fun with that.” With its high praise, the general consensus of this film is that it’s a drama that won’t be worth missing. It reached theaters on February 4th, with an R rating.

Scream returned for a fifth installment this month, returning to the horror-satire format that longtime fans have grown accustomed to for the series. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette reprised the roles of Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley that they have played in every other film in the franchise, including the iconic original film from 1996 that reignited the horror genre in popular culture. The latest film follows a long line of sequels that didn’t quite live up to the original, and is receiving similar mixed reactions to those of its predecessors.