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How do you like them apples? Amazon Studios has scheduled Air, the Ben Affleck-directed film about Nike, for a global theatrical release April 5.
Air stars Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike executive who spearheaded the company’s pursuit of a deal with Michael Jordan, leading to the rise of the Air Jordan brand. The cast also includes Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker and Marlon Wayans, while Affleck plays Phil Knight (no actor plays Jordan; he’s expected to be an unseen presence in the film).
Amazon’s decision to give Air an exclusive theatrical release is surprising (in recent years, the company has focused almost exclusively on streaming). But with the film set for the usually lucrative Easter weekend, it could be the rare drama for an adult audience to succeed in a post-pandemic landscape.
Air is the first Affleck and Damon collaboration since The Last Duel, the excellent 2021 medieval epic they wrote with Nicole Holofcener for director Ridley Scott. It is also the first film from their new production company, Artists Equity.
With the company, Affleck and Damon have diminished their need for “work for hire” film projects, securing a minimum of $100 million in financing from the investment firm RedBird Capital Partners. Affleck has even hinted that he wants Artists Equity to compete with Netflix.
“If you ask [Netflix executive chairman] Reed Hastings…he’d say, ‘Hey, we went for quantity to establish a footprint,’” Affleck said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit last December. “I’m sure there’s wisdom in that and I’m sure they had a great strategy, but I would have said, ‘How are we going to make 50 great movies? How is that possible?’ There’s no committee big enough. There aren’t enough—you just can’t do it.”