“Reagan,” the Dennis Quaid-led biopic about Ronald Reagan that became a sleeper hit in the U.S. last year, earning $30 million, is going global thanks to Universal Pictures Content Group, which is set to release the film internationally.
The film was directed by Sean McNamara and stars Quaid as the Hollywood star turned Republican president alongside a cast including Penelope Ann Miller as First Lady Nancy Reagan, Mena Suvari as his first wife Jane Wyman, Lesley-Anne Down as Margaret Thatcher, Kevin Dillon as Jack L. Warner and Jon Voight as Petrovich, a Soviet who claims to have spied on Reagan for years. It released theatrically in the U.S. on August 30 by ShowBiz Direct, with Lionsgate handling ancillary. It also landed in cinemas in several territories including Spain, Portugal, Lithuania, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Poland via Voltage.
Variety understands that UPCG has the acquired rights to “Reagan” for a number of international territories outside of those where it has already released theatrically, and plans for a digital-only launch.
Despite being savaged by many critics, “Reagan” tied with “The Wild Robot” as the most popular film of 2024 on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter measuring fan reaction, according to the filmmakers. The disparity between the critics’ cumulative score of 18% and filmgoers’ score of 80% was, the claim, the “highest in history, surpassing the previous record of 65% by the ‘Boondock Saints.”
Variety‘s review said that the film’s “once-over-lightly approach to dramatizing key moments in 20th century history likely will please partisan admirers without winning many new converts.”
“Reagan” recently screened at Jordan Peterson’s ARC conference in London.
