Last week we covered the story that Warner Bros wouldn’t be giving Clint Eastwood’s latest film, Juror #2, much of a release in the United States. Given that Eastwood’s name is still held in high regard in his native country, it felt like an odd move by the studio to not push it wider and make more noise about what could be the filmmaker’s final film.
While Eastwood is now rumoured to be setting up another project after Juror #2, he is 94 years old and whilst we’re sure that his gaze is as steely as ever, there’s always the chance that this courtroom drama could be his final film. Given his decades-long partnership with Warner Bros, not to mention the fact that the film picked up plenty of buzz following the release of its trailer, it seems odd that the studio has elected to give it the most minimal of pushes in American cinemas.
Juror #2 stars Toni Collette, Nicholas Hoult, Kiefer Sutherland and Zoey Deutch. The film is “set during a murder trial where one of the jurors slowly realises he killed the victim in a reckless-driving accident and tries to save the defendant without incrimin ating himself.”
According to Empire City on Twitter, the reported 50 cinemas that were set to show Eastwood’s film has now shrunk to just 30. Furthermore, World Of Reel adds that Warner Bros has released its ‘For Your Consideration’ list, publicly revealing the films that it will be campaigning for awards glory this year and Juror #2 is conspicously absent from a list that includes Dune: Part II, Furiosa, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Lord Of The Rings: The War of Rohirrim and even the critically-maligned Joker: Folie a Deux.
We’ve also heard reports that the film’s marketing push is going to be minimal, with the decision to give Juror #2 any kind of theatrical release at all coming very late in the day. Earlier reports stated that Warner Bros planned to open the film solely on its Max streaming platform.
Perhaps the highly-limited theatrical release is to hedge its bets, just in case the film opens to rave reviews at the AFI Festival in just over a week’s time. Maybe the studio is giving itself some wriggle room here? Should Eastwood’s next film land well with audiences, not only will the tiny theatrical release mean that it can qualify for awards contention, but the studio could retcon its theatrical plans into the first stage of a platformed release.
After all, despite Warner Bros seeming not to believe in the film, should audiences think differently it would be a very bad look for the studio if hadn’t given a proper cinema release to the latest (and potentially last) film from a legendary American filmmaker, one with whom they’ve enjoyed a relationship for many, many years. It was only back in 2018 when Eastwood’s The Mule made $175m for the studio.
Will Juror #2 be given the same chance? At the moment, it doesn’t appear so. The film is slated to arrive in the UK on 1st November.