SATURDAY NIGHT (2024): Jason Reitman’s SNL Movie is Set to Roll Out Slowly with a Platform Release

Saturday Night Live Movie To Open Small Before Going Wide

Jason Reitman‘s upcoming “Saturday Night Live” film is going to open in a platform release style to allow positive word of mouth on the film to build before its wide release.

Sony probably knows they have Oscar bait on their hands with director Jason Reitman’s upcoming movie, Saturday Night. Disappointing box-office results could kill its chances at receiving Academy Award nominations. This film’s studio, Sony, has opted to roll the picture out slowly before eventually going wide with it on October 11th. The plan is to release it in NY and LA as well as Toronto on September 27th. They will bring it out a little more on October 4th until the 11th rolls around and, then, the movie will be playing almost everywhere.

The cast is a dream. The big news is that Nicholas Braun is playing two different roles in the film. He’s playing funnyman Andy Kaufman and Muppets man, Jim Henson. That’s a lot of work for one actor and early reviews suggest he’s more than up to the task of successfully covering both roles. Willem Dafoe will serve as NBC executive, David Tebet. Rachel Sennott is portraying Rosie Shuster, J.K. Simmons will take the role of Milton Berle, Ella Hunt is playing Gilda Radner, Matthew Rhys is George Carlin, Gabriel LaBelle is Lorne Michaels and Cory Michael Smith will be Chevy Chase. Let’s face it, this short space is not enough to name all the people who made SNL happen and the comedians that are portrayed in this upcoming picture.

Jason Reitman has had Oscar glory in the past with both Juno and Up in the Air getting several Oscar nominations a piece. Reitman is long overdue to win a Best Director Oscar. This SNL film was certainly a challenge to the bring to the screen in terms of creating authenticity so he’s assured consideration for at least an Oscar nod for Best Director.

Last year, Sony’s Oscar bait GameStop stock project, Dumb Money, got lost in the shuffle due to mixed reviews. With Reitman at the helm of Saturday Night and the positive reviews rolling in, Sony seems likely to avoid the fate that Dumb Money met at the box-office. Saturday Night looks poised to earn somewhere around $50 million domestically at this point but that prediction can change anytime between now and the movie’s release date.

Saturday Night is the type of high-profile project that audiences should find themselves interested in whether they lived in the 1970’s or not. The program, “Saturday Night Live” has lived on throughout the years and the film is a testament to the original talent that made it all possible. It will have its international premiere at TIFF on September 10th. Don’t miss this film when it comes out in your area.

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