Earlier this year, Above the Line unveiled its most anticipated movies of the year, which included Jeff Nichols‘ The Bikeriders (#8) and Sean Durkin‘s The Iron Claw (#11). I was concerned that Hollywood’s double strike might bump them into 2024, and while that could still happen, both films have announced December release dates, giving hope that the studios aren’t punting on this year’s Oscar race.
Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), and Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness) star in the wrestling drama The Iron Claw, which A24 will release on Dec. 22. That puts it up against Illuminated’s animated movie Migration, and right in between Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 20) and The Color Purple (Dec. 25).
The Iron Claw tells the true story of the Von Erichs, a family of professional wrestlers who came to believe they were cursed after suffering a series of personal tragedies. Efron, White, and Dickinson play Kevin, Kerry, and David Von Erich, while Holt McCallany and Maura Tierney play their parents, Fritz and Doris, and Lily James co-stars as Kevin’s wife, Pam.
White has said he put on 40 lbs. of muscle for the movie, which is skipping the fall festival circuit, as Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) is still tinkering away in post-production. World of Reel‘s spies say the film gives off Foxcatcher vibes, which is exactly what I was hoping for from this rather haunting tale.
Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios has announced that it will release The Bikeriders in theaters on Dec. 1. That means it’ll square off against Anne Hathaway‘s suspense movie Eileen and the expansion of Emerald Fennell‘s thriller Saltburn, which opens in select theaters on Nov. 24.
Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, and Jodie Comer star in The Bikeriders, which is set in the ’60s and follows the rise of a fictional motorcycle club in the Midwest. Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, and Norman Reedus co-star alongside Emory Cohen, Mike Faist, Karl Glusman, Beau Knapp, Damon Herriman, and Happy Anderson. I mean, what a cast!
However, The Bikeriders might end up cruising past the fall festival circuit given the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike that prevents actors from promoting studio movies. Of course, 20th Century hasn’t made that official just yet, and the Telluride lineup is kept top-secret until just before the festival. Nichols’ last film was Loving, which came out in 2018, so it’ll be good to have him back, even though his first film, Shotgun Stories, remains his best.
December is starting to get crowded with specialty releases, as Searchlight will unveil Yorgos Lanthimos‘ latest Emma Stone movie Poor Things, and Neon will release Michael Mann‘s Ferrari starring Adam Driver. Netflix will also be releasing Sam Esmail‘s thriller Leave the World Behind starring Oscar winners Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali.
