Why is Road House remake Director boycotting the film’s premiere? All to know

Road House, a remake of the '80s cult classic that debuted in theaters 35 years ago and starred Patrick Swayze, is finally releasing on Amazon Prime under the direction of Doug Liman. The trailer promises to deliver a greater amount of ridiculous, deadly, continuous action than the original.

Jake Gyllenhaal starrer Round House (Image via YouTube/@Prime Video)

Doug Liman has declared that he will refrain from attending the SXSW premiere of his movie in protest at Amazon MGM refusing to give it a theatrical release.

Amid Amazon's $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, a century-old Hollywood studio, Liman agreed to direct a remade rendition of the 1989 Patrick Swayze film Road House. Liman was dismayed to learn that the film, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal and UFC sensation Conor McGregor, will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on March 21, 2024, bypassing a theatrical release.

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All the details on Road House remake Director boycotting the film’s premiere

Liman agreed to work as Road House's director for MGM in 2021, prior to the project receiving Amazon's approval several months after the company's acquisition of MGM. Amazon announced its intention to allocate $1 billion towards theatrical films, but Liman received something different from what was offered when they acquired MGM.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Dalton in Road House (Image via YouTube @Prime Video)

According to the source Deadline, Liman explained in a guest column that despite considering it one of the best films of his career, he will not be attending the premiere of Road House. The primary reason is Amazon's decision to bypass a theatrical release and send the film directly to streaming.

"When Road House opens the SXSW film festival, I won't be attending. The movie is fantastic, maybe my best, and I'm sure it will bring the house down and possibly have the audience dancing in their seats during the end credits. But I will not be there."

The director stated his initial intention to silently protest Amazon's decision to stream a film made for the big screen. However, he felt compelled to speak out against the decision to emphasize the significance of theatrical releases and how only a digital release will harm far more than himself and his film.

Liman revealed that Amazon informed him the film's reception from audiences was superior to that of any of its prior releases, and it fared better than its predecessors. Additionally, he disclosed that Amazon ultimately decided to distribute the film exclusively on streaming platforms, refusing to sell it to any other studio. He said,

"The influence extends well beyond the confines of this singular film. This has the potential to shape the industry for decades to come. In the absence of tentpole films, movie theatres will cease to exist in the foreseeable future... The commercial box office successes that fuel studios' confidence in experimenting with original films and new directors would not exist without movie theatres. We would not have cinema icons if not for movie theaters."

Liman thinks that seeing as how people went back to theaters after streaming premieres during the pandemic, they want to be with other people. He also pointed to data that shows movies do better on streaming after they have been released in theaters.

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Road House will premiere on Prime Video worldwide on Thursday, March 21, 2024.