Netflix has set a release date for “Ink,” Danny Boyle’s new drama about the rise of Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid empire, with Oscar nominee Guy Pearce portraying the media mogul, and Jack O’Connell as Larry Lamb.
“Ink” will open in select theaters on Dec. 11 before arriving on Netflix in the U.S. and Latin America on Jan. 8. “Ink” will make its world premiere as the opening-night selection at the Venice Film Festival, where it will compete for the Golden Lion, before heading to Telluride and TIFF.
Alongide the release date announcement, Netflix also unveiled a first look image, which can be seen above,
Kicking off in 1969, “Ink” follows Rupert Murdoch (Pearce) and Larry Lamb (O’Connell) as they launch a newspaper that would go on to change the world. Against all odds, the two men created a new tabloid that became the biggest-selling newspaper in the world—reshaping the media landscape and ushering in the modern era of news.
What’s most promising about this film is that it was penned by acclaimed playwright James Graham, based on his own play. Joining Pearce and O’Connell in the ensemble is Claire Foy, who plays an ambitious newspaper editor named Jules Davies (based on real-life pioneer Joyce Hopkirk).
As it stands, Netflix has two major warhorses for awards season: “La Bola Negra,” acquired out of Cannes, and, of course, David Fincher’s “Cliff Booth,” which may or may not live up to the hype—we still don’t know much about that film. Now “Ink” enters the picture, and we’ll find out just how good it is when it screens three weeks from now on the Lido.
Boyle is coming off the strong reviews “28 Years Later” garnered in the summer of 2025, and “Ink” seems to mark his return to baitier awards material. His 30-year career has seen him direct such films as “Shallow Grave,” “28 Days Later,” “Trainspotting,” “127 Hours,” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Mukdeeprom is well known on the arthouse circuit for his work with Apichatpong Weerasethakul (“Memoria”), and he also shot three Guadagnino movies.