Cinematrix

About Cinematrix

Cinematrix is a daily movie grid from Vulture, New York magazine's culture site. It was made by Vulture editor Neil Janowitz and contributor Joe Reid, who took the idea from the Immaculate Grid baseball game, and it is built with the team behind Movie Grid. Each day's game is numbered and dated; the grid for October 2, 2026 was number 920.

The board is three by three. Down the side are three people, usually actors and sometimes directors. Across the top are three descriptions: a span of years, an Oscar nomination, a co-star, a film based on a book. For each square you type a film that fits both its row and its column. Every guess is final, and you have exactly nine, so a wrong answer leaves a square empty for the day. A film can only be used once.

Every correct answer shows how many players picked the same film, and your score rises when you name films few others thought of. At the end you see your total, the hardest squares of the day and the most unusual answers people found, and you can share a grid of coloured squares.

It suits film fans who know filmographies beyond the hits. Vulture also makes Telematrix, a TV version of the same grid.

How to play Cinematrix

1. Open the day's Cinematrix on Vulture.
2. Read the three clues down the side and the three across the top; tap a clue to see a headshot or more detail.
3. Pick a square and type a film that fits both its row and its column.
4. Lock in the guess; it is final, and you have nine guesses for the nine squares.
5. Fill as many squares as you can, then see your score, how rare each pick was and the day's stats.

Tips

• Fill the squares you are sure of first, so a wrong guess late in the game costs less.
• For extra points, skip the most famous film that fits and name a smaller one you are sure of.
• An Oscar-nominated film clue counts any nomination for the film, not only one for the actor.
• Use full titles, including a leading The, so the game recognises your answer.

Questions