UPDATED: “Challengers” has officially been pulled from the Venice Film Festival where it was supposed to be the opening night film. Amazon has also delayed its release to the Spring of 2024.
Here’s the Deadline exclusive:
Another 2023 theatrical release gets moved due to the SAG-AFTRA strike as MGM is pushing the Zendaya starring, Luca Guadagnino directed R-Rated tennis romance to April 26, 2024. The pic was scheduled to open stateside on Sept. 15, working off the heat of its Venice Film Festival opening night premiere. That world premiere is not happening now.
I expect a domino effect to now occur in regards to other films dropping out of film festivals and delaying their release dates. The upcoming fall movie season is starting to look very doom and gloom.
EARLIER: Apparently, “Challengers” could get pulled by Amazon, but Luca Guadagnino really wants to keep that opening night slot. This is again from Eric Kohn’s recent piece.
Amazon has been wavering on whether or not to keep “Challengers” as its opening night selection. While director Luca Guadagnino has been lobbying for the tennis drama to hold tight, as the Italian auteur wants to launch his fall season hopeful in a prominent slot, the absence of star Zendaya lessens the potential for red carpet sizzle that studios crave from festivals.
As far as Venice goes, we’ve zeroed in on a few marquee titles that had been tipped, before the strike, by many journalists, to premiere there. They are: “Challengers”, “Ferrari”, “Priscilla”, “Saltburn,” “Poor Things”, “Maestro”, “Nyad”, “Strangers” and “The Killer”.
What we do know is that A24 has been exempted by SAG, so they can premiere their films at various film festivals, with all of their films’ actors in tow. “Priscilla” will most certainly be there. I’m not sure about the rest.
Much like TIFF, Venice is in a bit of a conundrum in that they bank of these big Hollywood stars to show up on their red carpet and have global attention firmly planted on the Lido. That might not happen this year — in fact, it probably won’t.
Following “Air,” this is Affleck’s latest stint behind the camera. He has cast himself in the lead role, alongside Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”).