Walt Disney Studios has removed “Magazine Dreams,” a dark drama starring Jonathan Majors, off of the release calendar. The film, which Disney’s subsidiary Searchlight Pictures purchased out of Sundance, was slated to premiere on Dec. 8. However, Majors has become embroiled in legal issues involving assault and aggravated harassment allegations stemming from a domestic dispute with his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.The actor has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
The studio also delayed the debut of its live-action version of “Snow White” by nearly a year. It will now open on March 21, 2025. “Snow White,” which stars Rachel Zegler as the beautiful princess who has a bad experience with an apple and Gal Gadot as the evil queen, was originally slated to debut on March 22, 2024.
“Elio,” a Pixar science-fiction animated adventure, has also been pushed back by a year. It was slated to hit theaters on March 1, 2024. Instead, the public will get a look at it on June 13, 2025. With voices from America Ferrera, Jameela Jamil and Brad Garrett, it revolves around a boy chosen to become Earth’s ambassador to an alien civilization.
Disney is the latest studio to make a series of changes to its slate. Warner Bros., Paramount and Sony have also undertaken similar shifts as the actors strike has eclipsed 100 days, preventing studios from finishing films or beginning production on others. “Mission: Impossible 8,” “A Quiet Place: Day One,” “Kraven” and more have all been pushed back.
But “Magazine Dreams” was probably not going to be screening anytime soon regardless of the labor situation. When Searchlight bought “Magazine Dreams” earlier this year, it saw the film as a potential Oscar vehicle for the star, who played a disturbed body builder. But if it had stuck to its original plans, it would have debuted the film roughly at the same time Majors was due in court. His trial is set to begin on Nov. 29. Though many reviewers liked the film, some questioned its popular appeal. PvNew‘s Owen Gleiberman observed in his review out of Sundance, “We want to see Killian achieve his dreams, but the film is structured as his long slow descent into the abyss. Will there be an audience to follow him there?”
