Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’ was reportedly always meant for Max, and is coming to streaming around Christmas

Much of the conversation around “Juror #2,” legendary 94-year-old filmmaker Clint Eastwood’s latest film, has been around Warner Bros. Discovery’s choice to not give the legal drama a full theatrical release. The Nicholas Hoult-led film opened in about 35 theaters, primarily just for an awards-qualifying run. But the film has been well-received by critics and has reportedly performed well in the handful of theaters in which it is screening, with Deadline reporting a weekend gross of between $260-275k (an estimate, because Warners isn’t releasing box office figures), and Puck reporting a per screen average of $9100 at AMC theaters. Puck compared it to another new adult-skewing drama, “Here,” that has grossed less than $2000 per screen. 

So “Juror #2” could have been a box office hit if it had been given a proper release. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, that was never the plan. Though it was never officially announced, “Juror #2” was always meant for the Max streaming service. Eastwood gave the mostly straight-to-streaming release his blessing. Beyond a limited domestic release and a run in a handful of countries where Eastwood is a big star, Warners decided to play it safe after looking at the theatrical prospects for adult-oriented dramas, which have struggled theatrically post-pandemic, opting instead to use the $35 million film to boost Max. 

Warner Bros. has not announced when “Juror #2” will be released on Max, but THR reports that it will be available “over the Christmas holidays.” 

It will probably be the biggest Max Original release since the days of “Project Popcorn,” when Warners sent all of its movies to Max and theaters simultaneously at the peak of the pandemic, and might even be bigger than any of those, after 3+ years of subscriber growth. 

“Juror #2” is a courtroom thriller about a man (Hoult) who realizes he may have a connection to the case he’s a juror on, and he struggles with the moral dilemma of coming forward with information that clear an innocent man but would harm himself and his family. The cast also includes Toni Collette, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris Messina, Zoey Deutch, Gabriel Basso, and J.K. Simmons. Collette is considered a longshot contender for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the prosecutor.