Richard Linklater Reveals Studios’ Doubts About ‘Hit Man’ Despite Critical Acclaim; Netflix Acquires Film for $20M

Director Richard Linklater is not happy that his new action rom-com Hit Man, starring Glen Powell, is directly streaming on Netflix. Linklater believes the studios didn’t acquire the film despite its critical acclaim.

How Netflix Bought Hit Man?

According to Linklater, despite the critical acclaim, studios “acted like they weren’t totally convinced” of Hit Man’s theatrical possibilities. As a result, Netflix ended up acquiring the film for $20 million out of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film’s production cost was around $10-11 million.

In a recent interview with the June 2024 issue of Texas Monthly, Linklater said, “The studios could have had it, but despite the overwhelming audience and critical response, they just acted like they weren’t totally convinced. It’s a weird time in our industry—not as good as it once was, put it like that. Netflix was the company that stepped up with the right attitude, like, “Hey, we love this film, and we want to make sure everybody sees it.” They made it an easy choice for us.”

The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 24, 2024. Linklater stated, “I think every single filmmaker whose film goes to Netflix has that conversation with them. You know, I have hopes that people will see Hit Man in theaters. But I also know that by the time a lot of them hear about the movie, it will be out of theaters.”

Directed by Linklater from a screenplay he co-wrote with Powell, based on the 2001 Texas Monthly magazine article of the same name by Skip Hollandsworth.

According to the official synopsis for Hit Man from Netflix reads, “Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater’s sunlit neo-noir stars Glen Powell as strait-laced professor Gary Johnson, who moonlights as a fake hit man for the New Orleans Police Department. Preternaturally gifted at inhabiting different guises and personalities to catch hapless people hoping to bump off their enemies, Gary descends into morally dubious territory when he finds himself attracted to one of those potential criminals, a beautiful young woman named Madison (Adria Arjona). As Madison falls for one of Gary’s hit man personas — the mysteriously sexy Ron — their steamy affair sets off a chain reaction of play acting, deception, and escalating stakes. Co-written by Linklater and Powell and inspired by an unbelievable true story, Hit Man is a cleverly existential comedy about identity.”

The cast of Hit Man includes Powell as Gary Johnson, a college professor and tech guy turned undercover mole; Adria Arjona as Maddy Masters, Gary’s love interest; Austin Amelio as Jasper, an undercover cop; Retta as Claudette, a police officer Gary works for; Sanjay Rao as Phil, another police officer Gary works for; Evan Holtzman as Ray Masters, Maddy’s abusive ex-husband; and Molly Bernard as Alisha, Gary’s ex-wife. Mike Markoff also stars in the film.

The film is produced by Mike Blizzard, Richard Linklater, Glen Powell, Jason Bateman, and Michael Costigan. The production companies involved are AGC Studios, ShivHans Pictures, Monarch Media, Barnstorm Productions, and Aggregate Films.

‘Hit Man’ will start streaming on Netflix on June 7, 2024.