A magnetic Matthew McConaughey fiddles, sings and tends bees until things take a dark turn in The Rivals Of Amziah King from Black Bear opening at 500+ theaters. Nimrods, a Green Day-inspired, R-rated road trip comedy starring Mason Thames and Mckenna Grace debuts on 1,000+ screens. Neon’s The Wrong Girls with Kristin Stewart and Alia Shawcat; Angel Studios’ latest The Brink Of War; Will Poulter-starring Union County and nonfiction American Doctor and The Bend In the River are setting up another solid indie weekend.
The Rivals Of Amziah King, the second feature from Andrew Patterson (The Vast of Night), is a crime thriller with a phenomenal soundtrack set in the backwoods of rural Oklahoma. Angelina LookingGlass, Kurt Russell, Cole Sprouse, Jake Horowitz, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan and Tony Revolori also star in this dive into the unexpectedly cutthroat world of honey that world premiered to a rare standing ovation at SXSW. The film was written by James Montague, produced by Black Bear, Heyday Films, G.E.D Media.
Critics are calling it McConaughey’s career best (see Deadline review) as the head of a small-town honey-producing operation, and leader of a band that frequently erupts into T Bone Burnett-produced bluegrass musical numbers. Quill, a song from the film performed by McConaughey, Ben Hardesty, Miranda Zickler, LookingGlass and Andrea Pister, was officially released as part of the soundtrack on August 7.
Synopsis: Deep within the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, charismatic and musically gifted Amziah King herds a bluegrass-playing band of misfits while overseeing the premier honey-making operation in town. When Amziah’s estranged foster daughter unexpectedly returns, he leaps at the possibility to renew connection and create a family business. But the honey game is ruthless and Amziah’s rivals threaten to destroy everything he has built.
Inaugural Entertainment and Live Nation Studios are launching Green Day-inspired comedy film Nimrods by Lee Kirk starring starring Mason Thames, Mckenna Grace, Kylr Coffman, Ryan Foust, Ignacio Diaz- Silverio, Keen Ruffalo, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Fred Armisen, Bobby Lee and Sean Gunn.
When Tommy (Thames) receives a phone call inviting his band to open for Green Day on New Years Eve, he doesn’t realize it’s an elaborate prank by his older brother, Wayne. Desperate to believe his life is about to change, Tommy steals Wayne’s car and begins driving his band from Kansas City to Los Angeles, hell bent on getting there in three days. What follows is a rowdy and uproarious road trip across America, inspired by Green Day’s early days of touring in a van, years before the release of their breakout record, Dookie.
Green Day Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong teamed with Kirk on the movie and appears with bandmates Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool. His son Jakob wrote songs for the film’s fictional band, Analog Dogs. Premiered at TIFF. See Deadline’s Q&A with Billie Joe Armstrong.
The distributor is eyeing a built-in cross-generational pop-punk fanbase leveraging the global IP and music catalog of Green Day to bridge Gen X/Millennial nostalgia with Gen Z moviegoers through young leads Thames and Grace.
The Nimrods campaign was launched by surprising hardcore Green Day fans, cast, and select press with a branded mailer that included limited edition VHS tapes loaded with the trailer days before it went live online. The Nimrods made a stop at San Diego Comic-Con with an activation at Petco Park where Green Day performed on top of an ice cream truck to a crowd of thousands and threw out merch (including branded ice cream), with Kirk and his wife Jenna Fischer (The Office) and star Mason Thames standing by. The Nimrods original soundtrack was released on July 31, 2026, featuring 22 Green Day songs, four unreleased live tracks, a new studio song (I’m Never Gonna R.I.P”), and contributions from Analog Dogs, Mckenna Grace, The Paradox, and Ultra.
Neon stoner comedy The Wrong Girls, Dylan Meyer’s directorial debut, opens on 510 screens. Stars Kristen Stewart, Alia Shawkat, LaKeith Stanfield, Tony Hale and Zack Fox, with Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Kate McKinnon and Geena Davis.
Two codependent best friends (Stewart and Shawkat) living paycheck to paycheck, and bong rip to bong rip, get caught in a case of mistaken identity that throws their lives into chaos.
Neon and American Cinematheque partnered on the official premiere August 5 with a full takeover of all three screens at the Los Feliz 3 theater. See Deadline review. It’s offering merch including t-shirts, caps and limited edition posters.
Neon produced and financed the film as well as handling U.S. distribution and international sales. It noted the project was shot in Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires, the production employed about 100 people a day across its 29-day production, 90% locals.
This is the company’s second collaboration with Stewart after Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, which nabbed her a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
GKids is rereleasing Your Name on about 650 screens in the U.S. and Canada on its 10th anniversary. It’s seeing strong presales for the anime landmark by Makoto Shinkai that was the highest grossing film of all time in Japan (since surpassed) and earned over $358 million worldwide.
