So much for summer. Back in July, I figured "Lizard Music" was eyeing a summer 2027 slot. Instead, Amazon/MGM Studios has dated the live-action/CGI hybrid, starring Dwayne Johnson and directed by Benny Safdie, as a family-friendly holiday movie for December 25, 2027.
The logic makes sense, given the fantasy nature of the project and the fact that it's based on a children's novel.
"Lizard Music" is now set to hit theaters a week after the December 17 release of Marvel's "Avengers: Secret Wars" (which might be punted to 2028), New Line's "Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum" and Lionsgate's "The Housemaid's Secret." On the day itself, it opens alongside Amazon MGM's Ron Howard-directed "Alone at Dawn," starring Adam Driver and Anne Hathaway, plus Nancy Meyers' "Paris Paramount" for Warner Bros. That's two Amazon MGM releases on the same day. Something might move.
Quick refresher: this is Safdie and Johnson's follow-up to "The Smashing Machine," which underwhelmed last year. It's based on Daniel Pinkwater's 1976 novel, which has been in Hollywood development on and off for almost two decades.
The film follows a young boy, played by newcomer Theo Leber, who discovers a late-night broadcast of lizards playing otherworldly music. It leads him to the Chicken Man, an eccentric older man played by Johnson, and his 111-year-old chicken, Claudia. The cast also includes Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi, Regina Hall, Colman Domingo, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel McAdams, Andrew Dice Clay and David Krumholtz.
Principal photography on "Lizard Music" began in August, and Johnson has said he had to sit for five hours of makeup every day to play a man in his 70s. His pitch for the film? "Imagine Willy Wonka but from the mind of Benny Safdie." That's either the most exciting or the most terrifying sentence I've read all month.
I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure what to expect from "Lizard Music." But don't tell me you're not at least a little curious about a Safdie-directed family fantasy with a prosthetic-heavy, slimmed-down, 70-year-old Rock. It has the potential to be one of the strangest Christmas Day releases from a major studio in a long time. Regardless, we'll see if that date holds.
Amazon/MGM Studios has dated the live-action/CGI hybrid, starring Dwayne Johnson and directed by Benny Safdie, as a family-friendly holiday movie for December 25, 2027.