Focus Features announced this afternoon that Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” will open in theaters on August 10. That makes the rumored Cannes premiere slightly more realistic.
A Blumhouse production, the dramatic thriller was produced by Lee, Jordan Peele, Jason Blum, Sean McKittrick and Raymond Mansfield. It’s a rare Blumhouse picture that will not be released by Focus’ parent, Universal Pictures, which has created speculation it’s more of a prestige, awards movie than most of the genre company’s titles. Of course, Blumhouse also produced Uni release “Get Out” and the Universal has Oscar bait “First Man” from Damien Chazelle and “The Women of Marwen” from Robert Zemeckis on its 2018 fall slate so questions abound.
Based on a true story, the film centers Ron Stallworth’s life as Colorado Springs’s first African-American police officer who went undercover to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. In the film, Detective Stallworth (John David Washington) and his partner Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) reach the highest levels of the KKK to hinder it’s attempt to take over the city.
The film also stars Laura Harrier (“Spider-Man: Homecoming”) and Topher Grace.
Focus Features has brought both “Loving” and “The Beguiled” to Cannes over the past two years. The studio also arguably has three other awards contenders for release later this year. A Cannes premiere and an August/September release has been successfully navigated recently by acclaimed films such as “Sicaro” and “Hell or High Water.” African-American centric dramas such as “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and “Straight Out of Compton” have also had box office success in August over the past decade.
Lee’s classic “Do The Right Thing” screened at Cannes in competition in 1989 as did “Jungle Fever” in 1991. “Girl 6” screened as a special presentation in 1996. The filmmaker received an honorary Oscar in 2016.
