Moviegoers Tune Out Election By Going to ‘Venom: The Last Dance,’ ‘Juror #2’ and More: ‘We Need a Break Before the Storm’

variety.com:

A Real Pain,” a comedic drama starring Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg. “I keep going back and forth of wanting to put hopeful energy out there and not wanting to get crushed like I did in 2016.

That’s why I’m trying to distract myself all day.” Slevin isn’t alone. Plenty of people around the country are turning to the movies — their choices range from superhero sequels (“Venom: The Last Dance“) to courtroom dramas (“Juror #2”) — to escape the relentless media chyrons and take a break from following Steve Kornacki as he obsesses over the election board.

Cinemas have long provided a welcome respite from a painful reality, and this presidential race, one of the most vitriolic in the country’s nearly 250-year history,has reopened wounds that can only be soothed by popcorn and soda.

And Kamala vs. Trump? For a few hours, that will have to wait. “I wanted to get my mind off the election,” says Chris Griggs, a 58-year-old New York comedian, while exiting a screening of “Juror #2.” He said the Clint Eastwood film legal thriller “seemed fitting since it’s about the justice system.” Griggs looks to art to “transport to another time and place.” Yet in this case, the movie was only a temporary reprieve. “It took my mind off it when I was watching the film,” he says. “And then when I got through it, the anxiety was back again.” Michael Larson of Los Angeles plans to be glued to his TV as polls start to close, so he chose a matinee screening to kill some time after voting. “We need a break before the storm,” he says. “Results shouldn’t be rolling in until later tonight at the earliest, so it’s nice to disconnect from everything that’s been on our minds for years and to escape into a movie.” His brother, James, felt their choice of.