Almost 30 years after their last adventure, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are back as slacker duo Bill and Ted in new movie, Bill & Ted Face the Music, which is available as a premium video on demand rental in the U.S. from Friday.
However, the comedy’s international release is a little more complicated. In the U.K., Bill & Ted Face The Music will only be released in cinemas, and fans will have to wait another month to see it.
The movie is set for release in the U.K. and Ireland on September 23 in a full theatrical release.
U.K. cinemas have largely been abandoned since the coronavirus pandemic led to local lockdowns in March. This week, however, theater chains and independent theaters face their first test to see if movie-goers are ready to return with the release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Warner Bros., the studio behind Tenet, is also distributing Bill & Ted Face The Music in the U.K., which could explain the different release strategy.
In the U.S., United Artists Releasing is distributing the movie in theaters and as a premium video on demand rental on the same day.
Bill & Ted Face The Music is released 29 years after Reeves and Winter last played Bill and Ted in 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. The series launched in 1989 with Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
The new Bill & Ted has been met with acclaim and is currently rated 81% fresh on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
NPR’s Linda Holmes said, “I don’t know that I needed a third Bill & Ted movie, but I’ve got to say, I was happy to see it.” And Collider’s Matt Goldberg said, “The duo’s goofy charm hasn’t diminished with age.”
In a review for RogertEbert.com, Brian Tallerico added: “A remarkably likable comedy about two good guys still trying to find their place in the world.”
