‘Asteroid City’ Announces Streaming Premiere

Did you miss Wes Anderson’s latest movie when it was playing in theaters? Are you in the mood to watch something with extremely symmetrical compositions and actors looking directly into the lens of the camera? Good news on both fronts: Asteroid City is coming to streaming in a matter of days. The film, Anderson’s 11th effort as a writer and director, will premiere on Peacock next week.

As in many of Anderson’s recent efforts, there are multiple layers to the story. The film is presented as a TV show of a stage play. The play itself is in beautiful color widescreen photography, while the story behind the making of the play is shown in a boxy black and white aspect ratio. The massive all-star cast includes Tom Hanks, Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, Stephen Park, Hope Davis, Willem Dafoe, and Barbie herself, Margot Robbie.

READ MORE: Ranking Wes Anderson’s Movies

Asteroid City had a solid run at the box office by Anderson’s standards. It grossed $27.7 million in the U.S. and another $19.4 million overseas; compared with his entire catalogue its his fifth biggest movie ever. (Can you guess what’s number one? You might be surprised. It’s ... The Grand Budapest Hotel, which earned $163 million in theaters, more than double Wes Anderson’ second-biggest hit, The Royal Tenenbaums.) Asteroid City also performed better than Anderson’s previous movie, The French Dispatch, although only by about $2 million.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

A fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Junior Stargazers and Space Cadets from across the country assemble for the annual Asteroid Day celebration -- but the scholarly competition is spectacularly upended by world-changing events. Equal parts comedy, drama, and romance (with a touch of science-fiction).

Asteroid City will premiere on Peacock on August 11.