| 100% | ASTEROIDCITY | 12 | 2023 Wes Anderson dramedy with Willem Dafoe as an acting teacher: 2 wds. |
| 38% | NIGHTMAREALLEY | 14 | 2021 Guillermo del Toro film with Willem Dafoe as a carnival owner: 2 wds. |
| 33% | THEGREATWALL | 12 | 2016 monster movie with Willem Dafoe as a European adventurer in China: 3 wds. |
| 29% | DEADPOETS | 9 | With 18-Across, 1989 Peter Weir film starring Robin Williams as an English teacher: 2 wds. |
| 28% | WEBTHERAPY | 10 | 2011-2015 Showtime series that starred "Friends" alum Lisa Kudrow as an online counselor with dubious credentials: 2 wds. |
| 28% | INDETAIL | 8 | Exhaustively, as with an explanation: 2 wds. |
| 27% | LEAPAT | 6 | Accept with enthusiasm, as an opportunity (2 wds.) |
| 27% | OFGOD | 5 | "... an act ___" (uncontrollable natural event): 2 wds. |
| 27% | THEROYAL | 8 | With 21-Across, 2001 Wes Anderson film starring Gene Hackman: 2 wds. |
| 26% | PAINHUSTLERS | 12 | 2023 Netflix crime comedy with Catherine O'Hara as the mother of a woman marketing opioids: 2 wds. |
| 26% | BUTTONUP | 8 | Fasten, as an Oxford shirt: 2 wds. |
| 26% | INUSE | 5 | Occupied, as an airplane lavatory: 2 wds. |
| 26% | REVUP | 5 | Gun, as an engine: 2 wds. |
| 26% | DREAMUP | 7 | Concoct, as an idea: 2 wds. |
| 26% | GETON | 5 | Board, as an airplane: 2 wds. |
| 26% | REVUP | 5 | Accelerate, as an engine: 2 wds. |
| 26% | REPLYTO | 7 | Answer, as an email: 2 wds. |
| 26% | TEDLASSO | 8 | Apple TV+ series with Jason Sudeikis as an American coaching an English soccer team: 2 wds. |
| 26% | AMPUP | 5 | Increase, as an electric guitar's sound: 2 wds. |
| 26% | ONCUE | 5 | Properly timed, as an actor's entrance: 2 wds. |
| 26% | ICEUP | 5 | Freeze over, as an airplane's wings: 2 wds. |
| 26% | SHRUGOFF | 8 | Brush aside, as an unimportant problem: 2 wds. |
| 26% | ADDUP | 5 | Make sense, as an explanation: 2 wds. |
| 25% | INLA | 4 | "To Live and Die ___," movie starring Willem Dafoe: 2 wds. |
| 25% | SITSIN | 6 | Joins a meeting as an observer: 2 wds. |
| 25% | TILDASWINTON | 12 | "Michael Clayton" actress who's featured in four Wes Anderson films: 2 wds. |
| 25% | EDWARDNORTON | 12 | "Fight Club" actor who's featured in four Wes Anderson films: 2 wds. |
| 25% | TOSIRWITHLOVE | 13 | 1967 movie that starred Sidney Poitier as an inner-city teacher: 4 wds. |
| 25% | THEAPARTMENT | 12 | 1960 romantic dramedy featuring Shirley MacLaine as an elevator operator (2 wds.) |
| 25% | TOTEBAG | 7 | Carryall that's sometimes offered as an incentive in pledge drives: 2 wds. |