Overview

• Black Bear Pictures set a November 7 theatrical release, following the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
• The trailer contrasts celebratory ring footage set to Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” with darker glimpses of a fraught home life.
• Sweeney detailed months of two-to-three-a-day training and a 30-plus-pound weight gain, with fight scenes performed using real contact and no stunt double.
• David Michôd directs from a script co-written with Mirrah Foulkes, with Ben Foster as trainer-husband Jim, Merritt Wever as Christy’s mother, and Katy O’Brian as a rival.
• TIFF audiences delivered a standing ovation and early awards chatter, while initial reviews range from strong notices for Sweeney to reservations, including a 61% Rotten Tomatoes score reported with 31 reviews.