ROAD HOUSE (2024): Doug Liman’s Remake Set to Open SXSW Film Festival but is Going to Stream on Prime Video

Doug Liman’s Action Film Bypassing a Theatrical Release

Doug Liman’s new remake of Road House featuring Jake Gyllenhaal is going to be an Amazon Prime Video release instead of a theatrical one which frustrates Liman.

1989’s Road House, which starred Patrick Swayze, only mustered $30 million in its entire theatrical run. However, the upcoming Doug Liman remake has garnered quite a bit of preliminary buzz which would lead one to think that fans of the original would show up to movie theaters in droves to see it. $30 million would likely be achieved in its opening weekend alone if Swayze’s replacement, Jake Gyllenhaal, does the role justice. Gyllenhaal whipped himself into shape to play his role in the picture and his fans would probably prefer to see the actor’s work on the big screen. Amazon Prime Video is not letting that happen, though, and Doug Liman is not happy.

Liman will be boycotting the premiere of Road House at the South by Southwest Film Festival where it will be the major opening night presentation. Liman is doing this because he believes his film was meant to be seen first on the big screen rather than streamed to television sets and devices immediately. Road House has tested higher than Liman’s most successful theatrical release, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, according to the filmmaker, so it seems unfair to the director that the film is taking the route of going straight to Prime Video rather than playing first in theaters like other recent movies such as Air and The Beekeeper which proved to be profitable for the studio.

Road House is about an educated bouncer who always wins in fights and is seemingly the type of crowd-pleaser that demands an audience to fully appreciate what the film is trying to do. Yes, the original was a “B” movie in almost every way (it even received a “B” CinemaScore grade) but a bigger and better movie such as the one Liman made would really be an event picture since Swayze’s 1989 version has won over a huge number of fans since its initial release. Amazon film executives have decided to go the streaming route with the new picture, perhaps to win over more subscribers to their service.

While Liman attempted to take his movie to another studio which would release it in theaters, he wasn’t allowed to do so, according to the filmmaker. Liman suspects that this kind of straight to streaming release strategy could hurt the movie business and potentially lead to the shutdown of movie theaters. People still love going to the movies and Liman wants audiences to experience Road House on the big screen where he intended it to be seen.

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