Happy Labor Day from The A.V. Club

While there won't be any news today, our Action Film Franchise Bracket kicks (and punches) off.

By Drew Gillis | September 1, 2025 | 7:00am

Photo by J Nettis/ClassicStock/Getty Images

News News Labor Day

Today is Labor Day, which means that The A.V. Club is celebrating the wins of the labor movement while it’s still legal. As such, we’ll be away from the news desk while we soak up the last few days of summer before the cruel winter appears over the horizon. Of course, September is still mostly a summer month, but the norms of our culture dictate that the season unofficially ends with Labor Day, as children head back to school and Spirit Halloweens manifest across our expansive nation.

Anyway, today is also notable for the beginning of our weeklong Action Film Franchise Bracket. At noon ET, the first round will be live, pitting franchises like Die Hard and The Equalizer, and Jason Bourne and Lethal Weapon, against each other. While we make our way through the bracket, you, the reader, can play along and fight it out in a parallel poll all week. 32 franchises enter and only one will leave.