Netflix Dates Danny Boyle's 'Ink': Venice Premiere, December Theatrical Run, January Streaming
Netflix has set its release plan for "Ink," Danny Boyle's Rupert Murdoch drama starring Guy Pearce. The film opens in select US theatres on 11 December and arrives on Netflix in the US and Latin America on 8 January, according to Variety.
Before any of that, "Ink" gets a festival send-off. It opens the 83rd Venice Film Festival on 2 September 2026, competing for the Golden Lion — the first time Boyle has attended the Lido, per Variety. The festival runs 2–12 September. A Canadian debut follows at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film adapts James Graham's Tony-nominated play of the same name, with Graham writing the screenplay himself. Pearce plays a brash, thirty-something Murdoch; Jack O'Connell plays Larry Lamb, the editor Murdoch hired to remake British tabloid journalism. Claire Foy rounds out the principal cast. Graham's stage credits include the Olivier-winning "Dear England" and the miniseries "Sherwood."
The stage "Ink" opened at London's Almeida Theatre in 2017 before transferring to the West End and Broadway, where Bertie Carvel won a Tony for playing Murdoch. On screen, the role passes to Pearce.
Boyle directs and produces alongside Tracey Seaward, Tessa Ross and Michael Ellenberg. Boyle won best director and best picture for "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008) and recently reunited with screenwriter Alex Garland on "28 Years Later." "Ink" is a Studiocanal, Media Res and House Productions film; Studiocanal fully financed it and handles worldwide sales, releasing the film theatrically across its own territories.
The international rollout reflects that split. Studiocanal opens "Ink" in France and Belgium on 6 January, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand on 7 January, and the UK and Poland on 8 January. Italy follows on 18 February and Germany on 25 February. Netflix's streaming debut in the US and Latin America lands on 8 January, timed to the UK theatrical opening — a pattern that lets the film build awards conversation during the December qualifying window before reaching streaming audiences.
Netflix closed its deal for US and Latin American rights in July 2026, ahead of the Venice announcement, as reported by Deadline and The Playlist.
Variety also unveiled a new image from the film showing Pearce in character as Murdoch.
The December-to-January corridor is familiar awards territory. A theatrical run in December makes a film eligible for year-end honours; the streaming drop a month later keeps it visible to a wider audience as nomination voting begins. For a director making his Venice debut and a playwright adapting his own acclaimed work for the screen, the calendar is built to give "Ink" both a festival launch and a commercial one.
