Amazon Studios returns to the feature film Air this spring, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Nike

Good news for the Monday morning show: Amazon Studios is returning to theatrical releases with Ben Affleck’s Nike film Heaven, his comrade in the lead role goodwill hunt Co-Oscar winner Matt Damon. heaven will have a worldwide theatrical release on Wednesday, April 5 this year, heading into the lucrative Easter weekend. This is Amazon’s first major theatrical release since Sundance acquired Mindy Kaling late at night, which had a wide summer release in 2019.

i hear heaven will have a longer theatrical run than recent Amazon Studios limited theatrical releases before reaching Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories. It’s a truly unique arrangement for the studio, as Amazon Studios will distribute the film worldwide, while Warner Bros. Pictures acts internationally under its distribution deal with Amazon’s MGM. Amazon Studios only enabled US late at night, no world rights.

heaven reveals the incredible, ground-breaking collaboration between then-rookie Michael Jordan and the fledgling basketball division of Nike that revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This gripping story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the value of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenomenon who would become the greatest of all time.

Damon plays Nike outsider Sonny Vaccaro and Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight with Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser, Chris Messina as David Falk, Matthew Maher as Peter Moore, Marlon Wayans as George Raveling, Chris Tucker as Howard White and Viola Davis among others, Deloris Jordan, Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler and Julius Tennon as James Jordan. While Damon and Affleck enjoyed acting together in films goodwill hunt and dogma, sky revisits Affleck’s directorial debut about his old friend.

“Ben, Matt and this all-star cast have delivered an incredible film that will move, inspire and entertain audiences around the world,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon and MGM Studios. “With Ben’s incredible direction, the film offers a nostalgic throwback to a culture-defining moment befitting a global theatrical event.”

Affleck said: “Matt and I are very excited to see the public heaven and proud to be the first release from Artists Equity. The film was an extraordinary experience in which we had the privilege of working with some of the best cast and crew in the industry, all of whom brought passion, tenacity and creativity to a collaborative effort to create a remarkable and ambitious story. recreate. I appreciate and appreciate Jen Salke’s confidence in our ability to execute and deliver a film we are proud of and her and Sue Kroll’s incredible continued support for the film. Amazon Studios, Skydance and Mandalay were all critical in making this possible and without them the film would not have been made. We appreciate the steps they have taken in each of their parts to make this possible and we want to thank them. It was the best creative and personal experience of our lives and we look forward to many more like this.”

Alex Convery wrote the screenplay; Produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Affleck, Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber and Jason Michael Berman. EPs include Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, Drew Vinton, John Graham, Peter E. Strauss and Jordan Moldo.

Production companies alongside Amazon Studios include Skydance Sports, Mandalay Pictures and Affleck and Damon’s Artists Equity.

heaven debuted in an Easter frame with Universal/Illumination’s The movie Super Mario Bros and Sony’s The Pope’s Exorcism.

As of fall 2019, Amazon began moving to a short, limited theatrical window for its titles before merging with its OTT service, namely the Adam Driver film The report and the film Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones The Airmen. They maintained this model for some time even for the big expensive films they acquired during the pandemic ie Come 2 America, Cinderella, and The war of tomorrow.