Cannes may be right around the corner, but the last few weeks have seen several highly anticipated prestige films set their release date stakes in the ground. You can now add another title to that list, Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly.” The George Clooney and Adam Sandler-starring dramedy will arrive in theaters on November 14 and then stream on Netflix beginning on December 5.
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The cast also includes Billy Crudup, Laura Dern, Grace Edwards, Stacy Keach, Riley Keough, Emily Mortimer, Patrick Wilson, Nicôle Lecky, Thaddea Graham, Jim Broadbent, Eve Hewson, Alba Rohrwacher, Lenny Henry, Josh Hamilton, and Greta Gerwig.
“Jay Kelly” is Baumbach’s fourth movie with Netflix after 2017’s “The Meyerowitz Stories,” 2019’s “Marriage Story,” and 2022’s “White Noise.” “Marriage Story” earned six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and saw Dern take the Supporting Actress Academy Award for her performance. In 2024, Baumbach earned his fourth Oscar nomination for co-writing “Barbie” with Gerwig.
Clooney, who is pictured in the first official image of the movie at the top of this post, recently landed his first Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for “Good Night, and Good Luck.” In 2007, Clooney earned Best Director and Original Screenplay nods for the movie version of “Good Night.” The 64-year-old multihyphenate last starred on screen opposite Brad Pitt in Apple Studios’ “Wolfs,” which debuted on Apple TV+ after a Venice Film Festival premiere.
It’s possible Netflix could hold “Kelly” to the New York Film Festival, but Clooney’s participation makes a Venice Film Festival bow much more likely. In theory, that means Telluride and TIFF screenings are up for discussion. Whatever the case, the streamer’s release strategy makes it clear they believe it’s a prime awards season contender.
Netflix also has an “Untitled Kathryn Bigelow Film” starring Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, Guillermo del Toro’s vision of “Frankenstein,” and Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” set for potentially awards-centric releases this fall.
Other potential Oscar players arriving in theaters during the same time frame as “Jay Kelly” included Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked For Good” on Nov. 21 and Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet” with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley on Nov. 27.
“Jay Kelly” arrives in theaters on Nov. 14 and will stream on Netflix on Dec. 5.
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