Regina King’s ‘One Night in Miami’ to Hit Theaters on Christmas, Amazon Prime in 2021

Regina King made a big splash at the film festival circuit with her feature directorial debut, One Night in Miami, which earned raves at the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was the runner-up for the People’s Choice Award. Amazon was quick to snap up the distribution rights, and has set a December release date for One Night in Miami, which will hit select theaters on Christmas Day before making its way to the streaming platform in January 2021.

Amazon Studios as set the One Night in Miami release date for Oscar winner Regina King’s feature directorial debut, based on the 2013 stage play by Kemp Powers, who penned the adaptation. The film will open in select theaters on December 25, 2020, followed by a global streaming debut on January 15, 2021 exclusively on Prime Video.

The December theatrical release date is a bit of a bummer for those concerned about the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and wanted to see the film as soon as possible, but it’s great that Amazon is releasing the film on streaming soon after its limited theatrical release. The film has been earning buzz since it made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and is primed to be a real Oscar contender after coming in second for TIFF’s People’s Choice Award (many previous winners of that award went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars).

/Film’s Chris Evangelista saw the film at TIFF, calling the film “a knockout loaded with superb performances,” and writing in his review, “One Night in Miami never once feels preachy, or overly speechy. The conversations seem natural, as does the chemistry between these performers. We truly get the sense that they all know and care for each other, and even when they’re on the verge of fighting, the respect and love they all share comes burning through. It’s impossible not to become engrossed with what we’re seeing; we want to spend as much time with these guys as we possibly can, and when the film fades to darkness, we’re sorry to see them go.”

It’s been a pretty amazing journey for King, who just came off of winning her fourth Emmy for last year’s Watchmen and an Oscar for 2018’s If Beale Street Could Talk. King finished filming One Night in Miami and released it within the same year, which she acknowledged in her statement: “To complete and release a film within the same year is a difficult task. We welcomed the challenge because we knew now was the time for this film to be released. Amazon fully supported our intention and I could not be more excited this prescient story will be seen across the globe.”

Here is the synopsis for One Night in Miami, which stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr.:

Set on the night of February 25, 1964, the story follows a young Cassius Clay (before he became Muhammad Ali) as he emerges from the Miami Beach Convention Center the new World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. Against all odds, he defeated Sonny Liston and shocked the sports world. While crowds of people swarm Miami Beach to celebrate the match, Clay – unable to stay on the island because of Jim Crow-era segregation laws – instead spends the night at the Hampton House Motel in one of Miami’s historically black neighborhoods celebrating with three of his closest friends: activist Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke and football star Jim Brown. The next morning, the four men emerge determined to define a new world for themselves and their people.

The film is produced by Jess Wu Calder and Keith Calder of Snoot Entertainment and Jody Klein of ABKCO. King and Powers are executive producers alongside Chris Harding and Paul O. Davis.

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