Ben Affleck's Nike drama Air gets 2023 theatrical release date

Ben Affleck's upcoming film Air will be released in theaters across the world on April 5, 2023. It will later be released on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Air will see Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in lead roles as Phil Knight and Sonny Vaccaro. It will also star Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher, Tom Papa, Julius Tennon, Joel Gretsch, Gustaf Skarsgård, and Jessica Green in supporting roles.

The upcoming movie is a dramatization of real-life events, focusing on Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro and his efforts to sign NBA legend Michael Jordan a sneaker contract.

Let's take a closer look at some more details about the upcoming film.

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Air follows the story of the American shoe manufacturing company Nike Inc

Air, produced by Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports, and Mandalay Pictures, will mark Matt Damon's first appearance in a Ben Affleck-directed film. Amazon will be handling its release in North America while Warner Bros. International will look over its international reach as per its distribution pact with MGM.

Amazon is yet to announce the film's prime release date yet.

Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon and MGM Studios, commented on the film's cast in a statement, saying:

"Ben, Matt, and this all-star cast have delivered a fantastic film that will move, inspire and entertain audiences around the globe. With Ben’s incredible direction, the film delivers a nostalgic look back at a culture-defining moment that absolutely lends itself to a global theatrical event."

Ben Affleck, who portrays American business magnate Phil Knight in the film Air, stated in a press release:

"Matt and I are very excited for audiences to see Air and proud that it’s the first release from Artists Equity. The movie was an extraordinary experience where we had the honor of working with some of the best cast and crew in the business, all of whom brought passion, persistence and creativity to a collective effort at re-creating a remarkable and aspirational story."

Affleck continued by praising Air's financial backers, including Jennifer Salke and Amazon Studios' marketing head Sue Kroll. Previous work by Affleck and Kroll includes the Academy Award–winning film Argo. He said:

"We value the steps it took on each of their parts to make it happen and want to thank them. This was the best creative and personal experience of our lives and we look forward to many more like it."

Matt Damon plays Nike salesman Sonny Vaccaro in Air, who gets the impossible deal to sign basketball player Michael Jordan for a shoe contract in the mid-’80s. The partnership went on to become the most relevant relationship between an athletic brand and an athlete ever, launching the global, multibillion-dollar contemporary sneaker industry. The IMDb description of the film reads:

"Follows the history of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of sports: Michael Jordan."

Damon and Affleck were previously seen together in films such as Good Will Hunting and Dogma. Damon and Affleck reteamed last year for the film The Last Duel, directed by Ridley Scott, in which the latter played a supporting role

Air's script is written by Alex Convery. David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Affleck, Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, and Jason Michael Berman serve as the film's producers with Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, Drew Vinton, John Graham, Peter E. Strauss and Jordan Moldo in executive production duties.