Magazine Dreams had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023, to positive reviews. Originally slated to be released theatrically on December 8, 2023, by Searchlight Pictures, the film was removed from its release schedule and dropped by the distributor, in response to both the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and assault charges against Majors. Briarcliff Entertainment later acquired domestic distribution rights to it, and is scheduled to be released on March 21, 2025.
Premise
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.[2]
Cast
Jonathan Majors as Killian Maddox, an aspiring bodybuilder who struggles to find human connection in this exploration of celebrity and violence.
Haley Bennett as Jessie, a grocery store worker and Killian's love-interest
In preparation for the role, Majors ate 6,100 calories a day for four months and trained for six hours every day to obtain and maintain the extreme muscular physique of his role.[5]
Release
Magazine Dreams had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023.[6] For the premiere, the production team declined to provide a open captioned print of the film, and the alternate seat-side captioning device provided to juror Marlee Matlin malfunctioned, thus the jurors collectively walked out of the initial screening in support of Matlin's inability to watch it. According to a statement from Sundance, the device was repaired and the jurors were able to screen the film later, as a group.[7] The following month, Searchlight Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film, beating out bidders including Neon, Sony Pictures Classics and HBO.[2]
The film was originally scheduled to be released theatrically on December 8, 2023,[8] but in October 2023, Searchlight's parent, Walt Disney Studios, removed the film from its release schedule in response to both the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and assault allegations against Majors.[9][10] Following Majors' conviction for assault and harassment in December of that year, The Hollywood Reporter said it was "unlikely" that Searchlight would still release the film, either theatrically or direct-to-streaming.[11]
In January 2024, it was reported that Searchlight had quietly returned the film rights to the filmmakers, so they could shop it to other distributors.[12] In October 2024, Briarcliff Entertainment acquired domestic distribution rights to the film.[13] The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on March 21, 2025.[14]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 92 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's consensus reads: "Its dramatic form may get a little wobbly during certain reps, but Jonathan Majors' incredibly committed performance makes Magazine Dreams well worth a watch."[15]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]
