Jonathan Majors Movie Magazine Dreams Finds New Distributor, Theatrical Release Planned

Magazine Dreams, the Jonathan Majors-starring bodybuilder drama movie, has found a new distributor.

Magazine Dreams premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2023, where it received mostly positive reviews at the time. Directed by Elijah Bynum, the movie co-stars Haley Bennett, Taylour Paige, Mike O’Hearn, Harrison Page, and Harriet Sansom Harris.

Searchlight Pictures acquired the distribution rights for Magazine Dreams following its Sundance premiere, beating out bids from Neon, Sony Pictures Classic, and HBO. Searchlight Pictures had planned on releasing the movie in United States theaters in December 2023.

In January 2024, however, Searchlight Pictures announced that it had removed Magazine Dreams from its release schedule due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and Majors’ legal troubles, as the Creed III actor was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment after he was arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

The rights to the movie were given back to the filmmakers, who were then allowed to look for a new distributor.

What distributor will be releasing Magazine Dreams in theaters?

Now, per Deadline, Briarcliff Entertainment has purchased the domestic distribution rights to Magazine Dreams. A theatrical release is being planned for the first quarter of 2025, though an exact date has not yet been announced.

“Magazine Dreams is a visceral experience that challenges the perceptions of ambition and identity,” Briarcliff Entertainment’s Tom Ortenberg said. “Elijah’s film made a well-deserved splash in Sundance and Briarcliff is looking forward to taking his story to the big screen across the country in early 2025. Jonathan Majors’ transcendent performance as Killian Maddox will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most compelling and transformative roles in recent cinema history. We are honored to bring this extraordinary work to theaters nationwide, inviting audiences to witness a story that will resonate long after the credits roll.”

The synopsis for the movie reads, “Magazine Dreams follows aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox (Majors), who struggles to find human connection in this exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of superstardom, not even the doctors who warn him of the permanent damage he causes to himself with his quest.”