After over a year of waiting, audiences will finally get to hear the story of how Zola and Riley Keough fell out this week. That’s right: After premiering at Sundance Film Festival in 2020 to considerable hype, Janicza Bravo’s Zola is opening in theaters this week.
Based on the real-life 148-tweet viral Twitter thread from Aziah “Zola” King, this stylish biopic follows Zola (Taylour Paige), a waitress who meets an exotic dancer named Stefani (Riley Keough) and gets caught up in a wild journey that must be seen to be believed.
But this is not the broad comedy you might expect from a tweet-thread-turned-movie. Bravo, who directed and co-wrote the script with Jeremy O. Harris, brings her own unique style to the film, which is being released by A24. In a previous interview with Decider, star Taylour Paige said, “[Bravo] had a very nuanced perspective on how we could tell this story. It’s not a stereotype—there is strategy and finesse and swift thinking and engaged listening in this woman, Zola.”
You don’t want to miss the film everyone will be talking about, so here’s where you can watch Zola, and what we know about the Zola streaming release.
WHERE TO WATCH ZOLA:
Zola opens in theaters on June 30, aka today. You can find a show time at a theater near you here. Right now, the only place to watch Zola is in a movie theater.
WHEN WILL ZOLA BE ON STREAMING?
There’s no word yet on when Zola will release on video-on-demand, digital, or DVD.
During the pandemic, A24 movies like Saint Maud and Minari became available to rent for $19.99 on premium video-on-demand just two weeks after opening in theaters. If A24 follows the same release pattern for Zola, the film could be on PVOD as early as July 12. However, A24 may want to keep a highly-anticipated film like Zola in theaters a little longer, especially as more and more people starting to return to movie theaters.
When asked about the Zola digital release, a representative told Decider, “No date has been announced for VOD at this time.” For now, we’ll just have to wait and see. And in the meantime, you can catch the film in theaters.
WILL ZOLA BE ON NETFLIX OR HBO MAX?
It’s possible that Zola will be on Netflix someday, given that the streaming service hosts a number of A24 films, including Uncut Gems. But there’s no guarantee.
Zola will not be on HBO Max, because Zola is an A24 film, and not a Warner Bros. film. While HBO Max is the streaming home for Warner Bros. blockbusters like Godzilla Vs. Kong and In the Heights, it will not be the streaming home for Zola—and at least, not for a while. If you want to see the film everyone’s been buzzing about for years as soon as possible, your best bet is to go to your local movie theater.
This post first appeared on Nypost.com
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