Regina King has excelled in front of the camera, winning four Emmys, including one recently for Watchmen, and an Oscar for If Beale Street Could Talk. Based on the rave reviews out of Venice and TIFF, her directorial debut One Night in Miami is going to bring accolades, as well. And Amazon, who scooped up the rights, are banking on it.
Amazon has set a Christmas Day release for One Night in Miami in select theaters, followed by a streaming debut on January 15th 2021. That, obviously, sets the drama firmly in the heat of awards season, where it will certainly be a factor.
One Night in Miami is based on the stageplay by Kemp Powers, and depicts a fictional encounter between four monumental figures in black culture and the civil rights movement: Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Cassius Clay, and Jim Brown.
The film stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr.
I love this move by Amazon. They’re accepting the pandemic realities and pushing the film back into December, but also dropping it into Amazon Prime just a couple of weeks later for those who don’t feel comfortable returning to theaters. The short window between them ensures that buzz will remain high.