With Michael Keaton having headlined two Best Pictures in a row, there’s more anticipation than ever for his upcoming Ray Kroc biopic, The Founder. That’s likely the impetus for The Weinstein Company today announcing that The Founder will now arrive in theaters more than three months earlier than originally planned. Previously set to hit the big screen in a limited release Thanksgiving weekend, The Founder will now open wide on August 5. Taking the November 25 release date will be Lion, director Garth Davis’ adaptation of Saroo Brierley’s The Long Way Home.
Also starring Nick Offerman, Linda Cardellini, Laura Dern, BJ Novak and John Carroll Lynch, The Founder hails from screenwriter Robert Siegel (Big Fan) and tells the true story of how Ray Kroc (Keaton), a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create the billion dollar empire that is McDonald’s.
Lion, meanwhile, stars Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman. Adapted from Brierley’s nonfiction tome, Lion follows five-year-old Indian boy who, after a wrong train takes him thousands of miles away from home and family, survives many challenges before being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only the scantest of clues, he learns of a new technology called Google Earth, and sets out to find his lost family.
In announcing the release dates, Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairman of The Weinstein Company, said: “We are very excited for The Founder and Lion coming out this season. I am determined to show that adult fare and award-caliber movies should be able to open any time of year and be successful. Last season was saw a crowded fall where some terrific films struggled to find an audience. This year I want to spread out our slate and give them the best opportunity to succeed. The Founder is brilliant and one of the most controversial films I have had the pleasure to be associated. The story of Ray Kroc should ignite adult audiences this summer and send the incredible team of John Lee Hancock and Michael Keaton back to the Dolby Theater. The touching and beautiful family story of Lion has tremendous performances by Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara and will work really well during the holiday season.“
The August 5 date will see The Founder open opposite the Kevin-Spacey-trapped-in-the-body-of-a-cat comedy Nine Lives as well as David Ayer’s much-anticipated DC Comics super villain ensemble, Suicide Squad. Lion, meanwhile, will face competition from Bad Santa 2 and Walt Disney Animation‘s Moana.
