Neon has set James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” for a wide release on Nov. 20, positioning the starry drama in the kickoff of awards season. The film will debut in select theaters on Nov. 13 before its nationwide rollout.
“Paper Tiger,” Gray’s first film since 2022’s “Armageddon Time,” stars Scarlett Johansonn, Miles Teller and Adam Driver. Set in 1986, the narrative follows two brothers, Irwin (Teller) and Gary Pearl (Drive). Irwin becomes entangled with the Russian mob after embarking on a get-rich-quick scheme to clean up the Gowanus Canal, and his former cop brother, Gary, is the only one who can get him out of trouble.
Neon premiered “Paper Tiger” at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it received a seven-minute standing ovation. Gray, a Cannes mainstay, said at the Croisette screening: “It’s not my first time here. It’s actually number six. I will say that there’s much more gray now in the beard, not just the name, but the beard. And I have learned finally to appreciate it…it always moves me greatly to see you here in this theater where I have very many great memories and I love you all.”
While “Paper Tiger” was one of the most highly anticipated films at Cannes, Variety’s Owen Gleiberman gave it a mixed review.
“‘Paper Tiger’ adds up on paper, and I suspect that Gray, a longtime critics’ darling, will get some of his best reviews for it,” he wrote. “The movie is engineered to be seen as ‘powerful.’ Right now, though, I’d say that he’s an ace director who’s still being undercut by the holes in his screenplays.”