The Bikeriders premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023 and is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on June 21, 2024, by Focus Features, after being delayed a year due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and a switch in distributors.
Premise
Set in the 1960s, it follows the rise of a fictional Chicago motorcycle club. Seen through the lives of its members, the club evolves over the course of a decade from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group's unique way of life.[3]
In October 2018, Jeff Nichols revealed he had been thinking about making a biker film set in the 1960s for five years, although he did not at that stage have a script, and mentioned the idea on the set of his short film Long Way Back Home to Michael Shannon, who reportedly told him "You've been talking about that damn idea for so long. You're never gonna make that [film]".[4][5] Nichols wrote the screenplay from his original story idea and began forming the project in 2022. New Regency agreed to produce the film in May 2022. The film is titled after the 1967 Danny Lyon photography book.[6]
Principal photography began in Cincinnati, Ohio in October 2022 and concluded that December.[11][12]
Release
The Bikeriders premiered as the opening film of the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023.[1][2] It was originally scheduled to be theatrically released on December 1, 2023, by 20th Century Studios, but it was taken off the release schedule due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which prevented the cast from promoting the film.[13][14] Following this, on November 20 that year, it was reported New Regency was shopping the film to rival studios and streamers for release instead and only two days later Focus Features acquired global distribution rights to the film, with its parent Universal Pictures distributing internationally.[15][16] On December 8, it was announced that Focus had scheduled the film for a theatrical release in the United States on June 21, 2024.[17]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 35 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Fueled by a charismatic cast and the gritty authenticity of writer-director Jeff Nichols' approach, The Bikeriders offers a conventional yet impactful look at motorcycle culture."[18]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[19]
