Release date locked for Jenna Ortega and Natalie Portman’s comedy movie with an Oscar winner
Jenna Ortega and Natalie Portman’s wild comedy The Gallerist has locked distribution and a release date—here’s when it arrives, and which outfit is handling it.
Right, so here comes The Gallerist, a dark comedy that’s been causing a bit of a stir since its Sundance debut. It’s now officially set to hit cinemas in the US on 4 December 2026 – which, in film distribution terms, feels eons away, but let’s get into why you might actually want to remember the date.
The Gallerist will be released in US cinemas on 4 December 2026.
Who’s Who, And What’s This About?
This one’s being steered by Cathy Yan – you probably remember her from Birds of Prey, which had its moments. The script’s by James Pedersen, and the cast is honestly a sort of fever dream of awards darlings, comedy oddballs, and pop stars: Natalie Portman leads as Polina Polinski, a Miami gallery owner falling apart at the seams both financially and romantically. Jenna Ortega plays Polina’s assistant, Kiki, presumably because no one in Hollywood can have a meltdown without a Gen Z sidekick these days.
The background: it’s Art Basel Miami, every influencer you can’t quite escape is in town, and Portman’s Polina is absolutely desperate. Things escalate when what’s described as a 'survival move' leads her to literally use a dead body as part of her debut art show. This kicks off a string of escalating chaos with cops and Instagrammers sniffing around, all while Polina’s fate dangles somewhere between fame and a prison cell. Genuinely hard to tell which she’d prefer.
The Rest of the Ensemble
Apart from Portman and Ortega, you get Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis, Daniel Brühl, and Charli XCX (making her move from pop stardom into indie film). Also notable: Catherine Zeta Jones is reunited with Ortega, after playing her mother in Wednesday, so families everywhere can get nostalgic.
- Natalie Portman as Polina Polinski
- Jenna Ortega as Kiki
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph
- Sterling K. Brown
- Zach Galifianakis
- Daniel Brühl
- Charli XCX
- Catherine Zeta Jones
Crew And Distribution Nitty-Gritty
The film is produced by Portman herself, alongside Ash Sarohia, Sophie Mas, Jonathan King, Tom McCarthy, Rae Baron, and Zola Elgart Glassman. MRC is the production company backing it all, and it’s Roadside Attractions and Vertical who’ll be handling getting it into actual cinemas – they picked it up after being apparently quite taken with its Sundance showing.
Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff – co-presidents at Roadside Attractions – and Peter Jarowey, CEO at Vertical, were clearly chuffed with their pick, judging by what they said after bagging the rights:
‘Cathy Yan's wildly original film was a winner for us at Sundance; she assembled a phenomenal ensemble cast led by Natalie Portman’s standout performance as a woman at the intersection of art and crime, revealing a dazzling comic edge along the way. It's as fun as it is terrifying.’
A couple of small additional notes for the Portman-Ortega obsessives: before this drops, Portman will turn up in Good Sex, while Ortega will be leading Klara and the Sun, also in 2026.