Jake Gyllenhaal and Doug Liman recently collaborated for the reboot of the 1989 cult favorite, Road House. But while the movie was initially set to premiere at SXSW on March 8, it got plagued with controversies that delayed its release until March 21. The upcoming release became the subject of controversy, following Liman’s Deadline op-ed piece.
According to Doug Liman, he wanted Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House to have a theatrical release, especially since it tested extremely well with audiences. But after Amazon bought the storied movie studio MGM, according to Variety reports, Liman was offered and agreed to an $85M budget for a streaming release of the film. Fans are now confused about whom to believe.
Controversial Prime Video Release of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House
Serving as a remake of Patrick Swayze’s 1989 film, Road House, Doug Liman came up with the reboot in 2024 featuring Jake Gyllenhaal. Offering the actor the titular role of the former UFC fighter who takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida dive bar, Liman decides to release the movie in theatres, especially after realizing that the movie had enough potential.
Therefore, Doug Liman first presented the package to MGM, a company that made movies for theatrical releases. But soon things changed as Amazon bought the storied movie studio. Although Amazon executives dubbed Road House a “smash hit” after it tested extremely well with audiences, they didn’t promise anything regarding the potential theatrical release.
According to Doug Liman’s Deadline op-ed, he noted how he was adamant about releasing the reboot in theatres. Therefore he initially chose the film to premiere at SXSW on March 8. Not just Liman but even producer Joel Silver became combative over releasing the film in theatres, over streaming platforms. But according to Liman, “Amazon said make a great film and we will see what happens.”
Eventually, it appeared that Amazon never had the intention of releasing the movie in theatres. They were rather interested in offering the reboot a streaming release. This, made producer Joel Silver even more adamant about offering Jake Gyllenhaal’s film a theatrical release, which eventually led to Amazon threatening to fire him, as per reports.
Doug Liman Wanted a Theatrical Release for Road House
But while this seems to be Doug Liman‘s side of the story, where he fought for Jake Gyllenhaal’s project to have a theatrical release, there’s also Amazon’s side of the story as shared by Variety. According to that particular report, it was noted that the company offered clear negotiation to Doug Liman and producer Joel Silver. After Amazon closed its $8.5B acquisition of MGM in March 2022, the deal for Road House changed as well.
“Sources familiar with the negotiations say the filmmakers and Gyllenhaal were given a choice: Make the film for $60 million and get a theatrical release or take $85 million and go streaming only. They opted for the latter.” Variety noted.
Thus, according to Variety reports, it seems Doug Liman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and others associated with the project were given a clear deal to either make Road House reboot with $60M for theatrical release or take $85M and have a streaming release. It seems sources noted that the director and the actor took the money for the streaming release but turned a blind eye to the negotiation.
Therefore, to avoid further confusion, Amazon put out a press release about the film’s distribution plan, where they labeled Jake Gyllenhaal’s Road House as an Amazon Prime Video movie. But following that, Doug Liman and Joel Silver became more obsessed with the film’s theatrical release. So much so, that in Liman’s Deadline op-ed he promised to boycott the film and claimed that Amazon isn’t interested in “supporting cinemas”.
But the director was complaining that he wanted a theatrical release. Someone is not telling the truth.
— ali (@y2raza) February 14, 2024
That's so weird that 25 million is all that was the difference between theatrical and streaming. I feel like Doug Lyman could have absolutely made it work for that low of a budget. In fact it might have actually been better for them to do that
— Matt Jarbo (@mjarbo) February 14, 2024
Something doesn’t add up. https://t.co/Yslumt73xi pic.twitter.com/aQyU0l7Z5d
— Rhea (@4eyedRaven) February 14, 2024
wonder if this is true or if this is Amazon trying to do damage control after Gyllenhaal/Liman have stirred so much shit about not getting a theatrical release https://t.co/eVd8zwIoyk
— coffee reload (@eventualforever) February 14, 2024
If they chose the latter, then why is Doug Liman boycotting the film’s exclusive streaming release? https://t.co/81EyMziCHM
— Emanuel (@madmaxmyers) February 15, 2024
Currently, fans are not only confused about the status of the film but also about where Road House might get released. Although it was previously set to premiere on March 8, it now seems to have been postponed to March 21.
