‘Road House’ Lands Roundhouse On Opening Night of SXSW, Proving It Has Big Screen Muscle

After the rolling laughs, hoots, hollers, whistling and clapping at tonight’s world premiere of Road House at SXSW, Amazon MGM Studios may want to think twice before putting this Jake Gyllenhaal–Conor McGregor rock ’em sock ’em beefcakes pugilist movie on Prime Video.

The jam-packed Paramount Theatre here in Austin, TX devoured this Doug Liman-directed movie like a dozen beef ribs from Terry Black’s Barbeque. By no means was this last-minute, unexpected trip for Liman a waste of time for the filmmaker.

While the streamer has turned a corner and committed to theatrical, and is largely judicious in making the proper call as to what goes on the service or on the big screen, this non-stop action in paradise movie, shot in Imax and further laced with Dolby 7.1 sound, is certainly worth leaving the couch for. Spoiler alert, there’s one action scene in the film that’s totally suitable for big screen love, involving Gyllenhaal’s bar bouncer getting hit by a truck while strolling across a bridge.

At a time when many exclaim that Hollywood doesn’t make enough movies for the middle of the country, tonight was iron clad proof there’s an audience for Road House. Typically, SXSW of late has kicked off with a genre (Us, A Quiet Place) or a fantasy movie (Dungeons & Dragons; Everything Everywhere All at Once) for the cineaste heads don’t here in the Texas Capital.

But this UFC themed movie clearly plays to burly dudes of all ages. Amazon MGM’s distribution move here with Road House, which is scheduled to hit Prime Video on March 21, is mind-boggling after tonight’s roaring premiere given that the studio did box office wonders in the flyover states over Christmas with George Clooney’s fresh face period drama, The Boys in the Boat which minted $52.5M. That pic grossed more than several other adult-skewing titles over the holiday including the starry Ferrari ($18.6M) and Zac Efron-Jeremy Allen White headlining Iron Claw ($35M). Given the fun, fun, fun-in-the-sun sensibility of this Key West, Florida set action pic, there’s gotta be room on the summer calendar for Road House. It’s reminiscent of the country fried movies Hollywood used to make in the late ’70s, i.e. the Clint Eastwood tentpole Every Which Way But Loose ($85.1M) and Smokey and the Bandit ($126.7M) but with significantly more punch and blood.

As we told you, Gyllenhaal introduced tonight’s screening, expressing gratitude to not just Liman bur to the Amazon suits including Jen Salke and Stephen Bruno, and more.

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