With the first half of 2021, reportedly, about to get devastated by studio delays due to the pandemic, it appears that the second half of the year is really when films are going to begin to hit theaters in full force again. And Searchlight Pictures is ready to stake its claim on several dates beginning in July for some of our most anticipated films of the year.
According to Searchlight, the studio has decided to finally unveil official release dates for the films “The Night House,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” “Antlers,” and “Nightmare Alley.” All four of which are expected to be some of the most talked-about releases of 2021.
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Here are the new release dates and info about each:
THE NIGHT HOUSE – JULY 16, 2021
Directed by: David Bruckner
Written by: Ben Collins & Luke Piotrowski
Produced by: David S. Goyer, Keith Levine, and John Zois
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Evan Jonigkeit, Stacy Martin and Vondie Curtis Hall
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE – SEPTEMBER 24, 2021
Directed by: Michael Showalter
Written by: Abe Sylvia
Produced by: Jessica Chastain, Kelly Carmichael, Rachel Shane, Gigi Pritzker
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Cherry Jones, Fredric Lehne, Mark Wystrach, Sam Jaeger, Gabriel Olds and Vincent D’Onofrio
ANTLERS – OCTOBER 29, 2021
Directed by: Scott Cooper
Screenplay by: C. Henry Chaisson & Nick Antosca and Scott Cooper, based upon the short story The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca
Produced by: Guillermo del Toro, David S. Goyer, J. Miles Dale
Cast: Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, Amy Madigan
NIGHTMARE ALLEY – DECEMBER 3, 2021
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: Guillermo del Toro & Kim Morgan
Produced by: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn
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Obviously, when you look at the four films, there’s no denying that “Nightmare Alley” is the big release. The follow-up to the Oscar-winning feature, “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro has put together one of the best casts in recent memory for his R-rated period thriller about “ambitious young carny (Bradley Cooper) with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who is even more dangerous than he is.” Clearly, with a December 3 release date, there are hopes of potential awards consideration for this film.
That said, ‘Tammy Faye’ is another film with a great cast that is likely going to be mentioned come awards time. And the September release puts it in line with potential festival debuts either in Venice or maybe even TIFF. “Antlers” is a film that has already been delayed quite a few times due to the pandemic and is a perfect Halloween-time feature. Finally, you have “The Night House,” which we saw a year ago at Sundance and has been just waiting for its official release date.
Still no word on Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” which many believe is just waiting on a new date from Cannes to see when it might debut. And with Cannes unsure of when that’s going to be, maybe Searchlight is just playing it safe and holding back its release.
So, while the first half of the year is still up in the air, we can all (hopefully) take solace in knowing that the second half is already starting to shape up as a great time to be a film fan.