[1] After Siskel died in 1999,[2] Ebert worked with various guest critics until choosing Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper as his regular partner in 2000.

[6] On August 5, 2009, it was announced that Phillips would return to the show as a permanent co-host, teaming with A. O. Scott of The New York Times for what would be the program's final season.

In August 2001, a few years after Disney's 1996 purchase of Capital Cities/ABC, the show's tapings were moved to ABC's Chicago station, WLS-TV, where it remained for its duration.

Siskel and Ebert often had notably divergent tastes, and as a result, heated arguments and spats that added to the series's popularity.

[30] This format continued through the end of the 1998–99 season and into 2000 before Ebert named fellow Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper as his permanent co-host.

By October 2006, Ebert had recovered sufficiently to resume writing published reviews on a limited basis[38] and later he was able to make a few public appearances, but due to his difficulty speaking,[39] he did not return to the show.

Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer and HDnet.com, Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips, and A. O. Scott of The New York Times appeared repeatedly.

On April 13, 2008, Scott wrote that his "experiences [as guest critic]... ended when Michael Phillips of The Tribune was made Mr. Roeper's permanent foil".

On July 21, 2008, Roeper announced that he was leaving the show after he and Disney-ABC Domestic Television did not reach an agreement on a new contract.

[48] The same day, Ebert announced on his website that Disney had "decided to take the program... in a new direction" and that he would therefore no longer be associated with the show.

[5] The intention was that Lyons and Mankiewicz would take the show in a new direction, hoping to widen the viewership and appeal to younger audiences.

During Lyons's tenure on At the Movies, he was criticized for his perceived lack of understanding of films and film history and use of positively phrased quotes (sound bites) that appeared tailored for use in ads (and increasing his media profile),[50] and for conflicts of interest in posing for photographs with actors whose movies he later reviewed.

[11][49][56] The final episode included reviews of Eat Pray Love, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and The Expendables.

[49][58] WTTW in Chicago, where Siskel and Ebert had their start, picked up the show, and began to nationally syndicate it on public television on January 21, 2011.

[60] Its principal co-hosts were originally announced as Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell of National Public Radio.

[61] Mitchell was dropped before the new series entered regular production;[59][60] his replacement was Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi and the Chicago Reader.

[62] Also, Ebert announced that regular contributors and occasional co-hosts would be Kim Morgan and Omar Moore, both respected and popular film bloggers.

[14][66] The hosts reviewed a number of recently released and soon-to-be-released movies per episode, taking turns providing a narrative critique interspersed with studio-supplied clips, moving into a back-and-forth debate over the merits.

Siskel and Ebert were especially known for sharp criticism that veered close to personally attacking each other, although they insisted this was largely a television act rather than a feud.

The show also recommended films coming on the home video market, including comments on DVD special features.

Following the death of Gene Siskel, Disney considered not permitting guest critics to use the "thumb" rating in their movie review.

[53] On the show airing the weekend of May 24, 2008, the hosts began using the terms "See It" [green] and "Skip It" [red] (which appeared in on-screen graphics) when summarizing their reviews.

"Rent It" [yellow] has been used to indicate a weakly positive verdict, suggesting that the viewer wait until the movie is available on home video.

Films so spotlighted included The Amityville Horror, The Fog, In the Mix, Æon Flux, Underworld: Evolution, and Date Movie.

[70] Introduced during the Roeper/Phillips era in 2008, "3 to See" was a segment appearing at the end of each show, in which the reviewers listed their top three favorites of the movies currently in theaters.

Guest critics on the September 6, 2008, debut of the segment included Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe, Tory Shulman of ReelzChannel, and Matt Singer of IFC.

Regular episodes sometimes devoted a few minutes for the hosts to give their opinions of a current issue related to the motion picture industry or to pay tribute to something.