Searchlight Pictures has dropped “Magazine Dreams” starring Jonathan Majors and returned the film‘s rights to the filmmakers, who intend to again shop it on the open market, IndieWire has confirmed.
Searchlight acquired the movie out of last year’s Sundance Film Festival and slated it for release during awards season, but pulled it from its release calendar after Majors was arrested on March 25 for assault and harassment roughly a month after “Magazine Dreams” was acquired.
Majors last month was found guilty of assault, leading Disney to fire him from his duties as Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the time, THR reported it was unlikely “Magazine Dreams” would ever be released by Searchlight, even directly to streaming on Hulu. But rather than sit on a shelf, the film has a chance to see the light of day elsewhere should the filmmakers find an interested buyer.
Searchlight had no comment.
Majors is set to be sentenced on February 6, with the “Creed III” actor facing up to a year in jail.
Majors told ABC News in a recent interview he was “absolutely shocked” by the guilty verdict while maintaining his innocence, saying there’s “no question” he did not cause the injuries to ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.
Majors was arrested on March 25 on charges of assault, strangulation, and harassment. The trial was delayed until November. Jabbari, 33, was hospitalized in March with “minor injuries to her head and neck.”
“Magazine Dreams” is directed and written by Elijah Bynum and stars Majors as a socially awkward and reclusive amateur bodybuilder with dreams of stardom in professional weightlifting competitions. The film drew comparisons to “Taxi Driver” for its sobering character study and violent turns. Coming out of the festival in January 2023, Majors’ performance was pegged as a potential Oscars contender. The producers on the film are Jennifer Fox, Dan Gilroy, Jeffrey Soros, and Simon Horsman.
Majors was also recently dropped from “48 Hours in Vegas,” in which he was slated to play Chicago Bulls superstar Dennis Rodman. That project, originally meant to be produced by Lionsgate, is also looking for a new home and star.
THR first reported the news of Searchlight dropping the film.
