"Saturday Night" Shifts Earlier with Platform Release in September

Sony and Columbia Pictures are expanding their release rollout for Jason Reitman’s SNL 1975 project, "Saturday Night".

The film, which was previously scheduled to solely release wide on October 11, 2024, is now getting a three-step platform release. 

It will first land exclusively in L.A., N.Y. and Toronto on September 27, followed by a limited release on October 4 and a wide release on October 11.

The movie is based on the real-life behind-the-scenes accounts of the opening episode of "Saturday Night Live".

It depicts the chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, counting down the minutes in real-time to the infamous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”.

On October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever.

The episode was hosted by comedian George Carlin and featured musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian. Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O’Donoghue, and Gilda Radner were all featured on the episode.

George Coe, who did not appear as a cast member afterward, also appeared on the show’s first episode.

Dick Ebersol developed the show and hired Michaels as showrunner. Michaels still produces, and “SNL” is set to air its 50th season in the fall.

The film’s ensemble cast includes Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Dylan O'Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, Nicholas Braun as Jim Henson, Finn Wolfhard as NBC Page, Jon Batiste as Billy Preston, and Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner.

It also features Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol, Andrew Barth Feldman as Neil Levy, Naomi McPherson as Janis Ian, Willem Dafoe as David Tebet, J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle, and Kaia Gerber as Jacqueline Carlin, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Matt Wood as John Belushi, and more.

Reitman directed the pic from a script he co-wrote with Gil Kenan, which was based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by Reitman and Kenan with all the living cast members, writers, and crew.

Reitman, Kenan, Jason Blumenfeld, Erica Mills, and Peter Rice are producing. EPs are Erica Mills and JoAnn Perritano.