British market town to show premiere of ‘The Bikeriders’
It’s been a long time coming, but Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle drama The Bikeriders, starring Austin Butler, is finally on the cusp of a theatrical release. However, an early screening of the film will be held in a location that’s about as far away from the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood red carpet as possible.
The sixth feature from writer and director Nichols, the story unfolds in 1960s Chicago and follows Butler’s Benny as he ingratiates himself with the Vandals, an outlaw motorcycle club. Led by Tom Hardy’s charismatic Johnny, the group’s evolution from a place where outsiders and two-wheeler enthusiasts can congregate to an outfit embedded in organised crime causes tensions to flare as the club threatens to lose sight of itself.
It’s a movie that Nichols has been wanting to make for close to a decade, but circumstances outside of his control have made the wait for The Bikeriders longer than expected. After premiering at the 2023 edition of the Telluride Film Festival, it was pencilled in for a theatrical release in December of that year.
However, the effects of the SAG-AFTRA strike saw it removed from the schedule, and after it was dropped entirely by Disney subsidiary 20th Century Studios, Focus Features and Universal stepped into the breach to acquire the distribution rights and stake out June 21st, 2024 for its big screen bow.
In an unexpected development, a market town in Northamptonshire with a population of less than 30,000 will be hosting The Bikeriders two weeks before it goes wide in cinemas, and it’s all thanks to Daventry’s own long and storied history of being a motorcycle hotspot.
As well as hosting a street market every Tuesday and Friday, the Daventry Motorcycle Festival has become an annual tradition. The event is free to attend and boasts plenty of exhibits, stalls, and entertainment to keep attendees occupied even if they’ve never been on a motorbike in their lives, and a major Hollywood movie can now be added to the list.
Coinciding with this years festival, The Bikeriders will screen at Daventry’s Arc Cinema on June 8th after manager Wendy Goldy directly contacted Universal Studios to request an advance screening, and her wish was granted.
“It’s so exciting, it’s fantastic for the bike festival and it’s fantastic for the town,” she said to the BBC. “It’s also fantastic for the cinema and it’s putting Daventry on the map, even if it’s just for one night.”
Describing it as “the icing on the cake for the whole festival,” with tickets being dished out on a first come first served basis, The Bikeriders might just be the hottest ticket of the weekend.
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