Jonathan Majors’ critically-acclaimed indie film Magazine Dreams will likely not see the light of day via any sort of theatrical release.
The 34-year-old actor was the toast of Sundance in January, earning rave reviews for the film at the film festival.
Searchlight Pictures acquired the film for distribution in February, but a month later, Majors was arrested on domestic violence charges.
The indie studio had intially planned a December 8, 2023 release, though in October, they took it off the release calendar, both due to the SAG-AFTRA strike and the allegations against Majors.
Now it seems – via The Hollywood Reporter – that the film, once considered an awards season candidate, will not be released at all, as the actor maintained he was ‘shocked’ by the guilty verdict.
Jonathan Majors ‘ critically-acclaimed indie film Magazine Dreams will likely not see the light of day via any sort of theatrical release.
Searchlight Pictures acquired the film for distribution in February, but a month later, Majors was arrested on domestic violence charges
The report reveals that Searchlight is officially, ‘maintaining radio silence’ as to the status of the film’s release.
However, unofficially, sources close to the studio don’t see a scenario where the film is released at all, not even on Disney-owned streaming service Hulu.
Some have speculated the film could land there, since it tends to cater to more adult dramatic fare.
However, others believe marketing the film would be quite problematic due to the themes of violence that run throughout… and given Majors’ conviction.
Still, others believe that, at some point, the film will see the light of day on some other platform.
Searchlight could ultimately relinquish the film’s rights back to the filmmakers, who would be able to shop it to other studios and streamers.
The film was written and directed by Elijah Bynum (Hot Summer Nights), who started writing the script during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He had put the script aside for a year, when one day he saw Majors’ face on a Los Angeles city bus, and decided to rewrite the film specifically for Majors.
The report reveals that Searchlight is officially, ‘maintaining radio silence’ as to the status of the film’s release.
He had put the script aside for a year, when one day he saw Majors’ face on a Los Angeles city bus, and decided to rewrite the film specifically for Majors
Majors plays amateur bodybuilder Killian Maddox, who battles his numerous personal demons as he struggles to find a human connection.
The relentless athlete will stop at nothing in his quest for bodybuilding stardom – even ignoring the doctors who warn him of permanent damage he could sustain.
The film also stars Haley Bennett, Harrison Page, Taylour Paige and Harriet Sansom Harris.
Majors is coming off a busy 2023, which saw him star in Creed III, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania and Loki.