In its continuing new business as a theatrical distributor, Black Bear has announced release dates for a slew of pics this year. Their Dustin Hoffman-Leo Woodall TIFF premiere title Tuner from director/co-writer Daniel Roher will go limited on May 22 before a May 29 expansion.
Woodall plays a talented piano tuner whose meticulous skills for tuning pianos lead him to discover an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down. The pic is 96% fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes; Black Bear took the movie they financed off the table coming out of TIFF, as we first reported.
Black Bear’s The Rivals of Amziah King from director Andrew Patterson and starring Matthew McConaughey as a bluegrass band musician and beekeeper will go limited on Aug. 14 and expand on Aug. 21. The pic which also stars Angelina LookingGlass, Cole Sprouse, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan, Tony Revolori, and Kurt Russell is a suspense title: When Amziah King’s (McConaughey) foster daughter (LookingGlass) comes back into his life and their honey business booms, they become the envy of the competition. The movie world premiered at SXSW last year to a standing ovation and 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Going Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4 is Spa Weekend directed by Hangover scribes Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. Pic, which stars Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris follows three childhood best friends, Jane, Coco, and Sophie, as they embark on some much-needed pampering during a luxury girls’ getaway. But when their trainwreck friend, Mel, turns up, the relaxation quickly descends into chaos with hilarious consequences.
Opening wide on Oct. 23 is the Guy Ritchie thriller Wife & Dog starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike, Cosmo Jarvis, James Norton, with Paddy Considine, and Anthony Hopkins. Pic follows the relentless greed of the Fairbank family and their associates who fuel betrayal and murder in the battle for succession.
Already dated, is the Jason Statham action movie Shelter which hits theaters on Jan. 30. Black Bear also produced and financed Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, currently streaming on Netflix, which has received Producers Guild of America, Critics’ Choice, Film Independent Spirit Award, and Gotham Award nominations for Best Picture, along with being included in AFI and National Board of Review’s lists of 10 Top Films of 2025.
Indie financier Black Bear launched their US Distribution arm in July with a plan for 12 theatrical titles a year. Last fall, they played the Sydney Sweeney boxing movie, Christy.