| BATTLEOFTHEBULGE | 1965 war film which premiered on the 21st anniversary of the beginning of its titular event |
| LION | The --- King, musical based on a 1994 animated film, which premiered on Broadway in 1997 (4) |
| OHM | Physics unit whose name is pronounced at the beginning of its representative Greek letter |
| THEDAMBUSTERS | 1955 war film which recreates the story of the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron (3,10) |
| RESERVOIRDOGS | Quentin Tarantino's debut film, which premiered at Sundance in 1992 to a mixed reception but gave the auteur wide exposure |
| THEDEERHUNTER | 1978 war film which won Michael Cimino a Best Director Oscar |
| INFINITYWAR | Cataclysmic titular event in a 2018 blockbuster |
| TEMPEST | Art employed briefly in play's titular event |
| ELALAMEIN | Which 1942 battle did Churchill call "the end of the beginning" of World War II? (2,7) |
| BIGBANG | Theory of the beginning of the universe (3,4) |
| APRIL | The Queen's actual birthday is on the 21st of this month (5) |
| KAFKA | He wrote "A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die" |
| SUMMER | Season with a solstice on the 21st of June also the connecting factor between 24a 38a 49a 6d and 47d |
| HOW | 🎶 Do you remember? 🎶 (from the crossword that ran on the 21st night of September?) ___ ... |
| SVENGALI | Villain of the 1894 George du Maurier novel Trilby, who hypnotically controlled its titular heroine (8) |
| DETROIT | Kathryn Bigelow drama about the 1967 race riot in its titular city (7) |
| JOHNNYBRAVO | Popular animated TV series with a boorish muscular young man as its titular character who tries to get women to date him: 2 wds. |
| WICKED | Musical, based on The Wizard of Oz, which premiered on Broadway in 2003 (6) |
| DIPLOMAT | The International Day of ____s takes place on the anniversary of the foundation of the UN |
| HENSON | Taraji P. ___ (she plays Shug Avery in the new musical version of "The Color Purple," which premiered on Christmas Day) |