Searchlight Pictures has announced a December 8th theatrical release for the critically acclaimed drama Magazine Dreams, which it acquired at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Directed by Elijah Bynum and starring Jonathan Majors, the film follows the story of Killian Maddox, a young man determined to achieve stardom in the world of bodybuilding, despite warnings from doctors about the damage he is causing to his body.
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Majors, who recently starred as the villain Kang in Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, delivers a powerful and emotional performance in the film, which won the U.S. Special Dramatic Jury Award at Sundance.
Magazine Dreams was a challenging project for Majors, who trained intensively for over a year to transform his physique for the role. According to Bynum, the actor’s dedication and commitment to the part were awe-inspiring, and some scenes even left the crew in tears.
The film also stars Taylour Paige, Haley Bennett, Mike O’Hearn, Harrison Page and Harriet Sansom Harris. Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy, Jeffrey Soros, and Simon Horsman produced the film, with Majors serving as executive producer under his production banner, Tall Street Productions. Luke Rodgers and Andrew Blau also served as executive producers.
Searchlight Pictures, which beat out Neon, Sony Pictures Classics, and HBO for the rights to Magazine Dreams, has a long track record of releasing award-winning films during awards season. The December 8th release date puts Magazine Dreams right in line with the label’s previous launches, indicating that the studio has high hopes for the film’s award season prospects.
Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum, presidents of Searchlight Pictures, praised Bynum’s “powerful film” and Majors’ “tour-de-force” performance, saying that it affected them “in profound ways.”