Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Nike Drama "Air" Gets Release Date

Amazon Studios is getting back into the wide theatrical-release business with Hollywood stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Nike movie "Air".

"Air" will get a global theatrical release on Wednesday, April 5. It will have a longer theatrical window than Amazon Studios’ recent limited theatrical releases, before hitting Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories. 

This is the first wide theatrical release from Amazon since its Sundance acquisition, Mindy Kaling’s "Late Night", which had a wide summer release in 2019.

The movie truly is a first-of-its-kind arrangement for the studio as Amazon will distribute it globally, with Warner Bros. Pictures handling international as part of its distribution pact with Amazon’s MGM. 

"Air" depicts the unbelievable game-changing partnership between then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division, which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. 

The plot follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time.

The starry cast features Damon as maverick Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro,  Affleck as Nike co-founder Phil Knight, Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser, Chris Messina as David Falk, Matthew Maher as Peter Moore, Marlon Wayans as George Raveling, Chris Tucker as Howard White, Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan, Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler, and Julius Tennon as James Jordan. 

Affleck helmed the movie from a script by Alex Convery. David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Affleck, Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, and Jason Michael Berman produce. EPs are Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, Drew Vinton, John Graham, Peter E. Strauss, and Jordan Moldo.

Despite Damon and Affleck starred in movies together such as "Good Will Hunting" and "Dogma", the project will be the first time Affleck has directed his longtime friend.

Production companies also include Skydance Sports, Mandalay Pictures, and Affleck and Damon’s Artists Equity. 

The movie marks Artists Equity's first project. The production company is an artist-led studio that hopes to empower filmmakers’ creative visions through entrepreneurial partnerships.

"Air" debuts over an Easter frame that includes Universal/Illumination’s "The Super Mario Bros Movie" and Sony’s "The Pope’s Exorcist".