Holiday movie preview: 11 burning questions about Avatar, Wakanda, Whitney Houston, Will Smith, and much more

After Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards, no one quite knew how to react. It took a moment to process; you can see it in the way the audience gave Smith a standing ovation when he won the award for Best Actor later in the ceremony, in the way the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn’t prevent him from taking the stage to receive that award, and in the way that, almost two weeks later, that same Academy banned him from in-person or virtual appearances at any Oscars events for 10 years.Smith has kept a low profile since the incident, avoiding major interviews and appearances. However, that’s going to be harder to maintain with his new film, , hitting theaters on December 2 and Apple TV+ on December 9. More important than how Smith handles the spotlight, though, is how audiences will react to his comeback. In any other year, Emancipation would be an easy Oscar favorite; directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), the film tells the true story of Peter, an escaped slave who was the subject of a famous photograph showing his heavily scarred back. But Smith’s involvement could taint the film as a whole, and audiences might be hesitant to tune in, especially since public opinion has turned sharply against him. [Jen Lennon]