Danny Boyle's Murdoch Film 'Ink' Sets December Theatrical Release Before Netflix Streaming in January
Netflix will give Danny Boyle's Rupert Murdoch film Ink a theatrical release on 11 December, with the film arriving on the streaming platform in the U.S. and Latin America on 8 January 2027 (The Hollywood Reporter). The gap — roughly four weeks — gives the film a run in cinemas before it moves to living rooms, a pattern Netflix has used on prestige titles chasing awards attention.
The film has a bigger launch before any of that. Ink will world-premiere on 2 September as the opening film of the 83rd Venice Film Festival, screening in competition inside the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema (La Biennale di Venezia). A Toronto International Film Festival screening will follow (The Hollywood Reporter).
Ink adapts James Graham's Tony-winning play of the same name, with Graham writing the screenplay himself. The story centres on Murdoch's decision to hire newspaper editor Larry Lamb to run the British tabloid The Sun — the deal that built one of the most influential and controversial newspapers in the English-speaking world. Guy Pearce plays Murdoch, Jack O'Connell plays Lamb, and Claire Foy also stars. Boyle directs from Graham's script, with a running time of 116 minutes (La Biennale di Venezia).
The production hails from StudioCanal, Media Res and House Productions. Producers are Boyle, Tracey Seaward, Tessa Ross and Michael Ellenberg (The Hollywood Reporter).
Netflix acquired the U.S. and Latin American distribution rights to the film in July (Variety; Deadline), setting up the release plan now in place. The film will compete for the festival's top prize against a field of up to 21 features at Venice (La Biennale di Venezia).
What makes the rollout worth watching is the calendar. A 2 September Venice premiere puts Ink in front of critics and buyers months before general audiences see it. The December theatrical release lands it squarely in the awards-corridor window — the stretch when studios position their most serious films for Academy and guild voters. Then the January streaming date widens the audience just as those conversations peak. For a film about media power, staged through the lens of a single hiring decision, the path from the Lido to the streaming queue is a tight, deliberate one.
