Amazon MGM has planted a flag on Christmas Day 2027 for Lizard Music, the eccentric family fantasy that pairs Dwayne Johnson with director Benny Safdie, the studio confirmed Tuesday. The movie will open wide on December 25, 2027, landing squarely in one of the most crowded and lucrative corridors on the theatrical calendar.

The project represents an unusual crossroads of talent. Safdie, who broke through alongside his brother Josh with the nerve-jangling Good Time and Uncut Gems, is working here from a far gentler register, while Johnson takes on one of the stranger roles of his career. He plays the Chicken Man, an oddball figure whose constant companion is a seventy-year-old chicken named Claudia.

A Boy, a Secret Broadcast, and a Hidden Door

Lizard Music centers on Victor, a boy left to his own devices who stumbles onto a clandestine late-night broadcast featuring lizards performing otherworldly music. The discovery flings open a hidden door to the extraordinary. His hunt for answers brings him to the Chicken Man and Claudia, two kindred spirits who have also brushed against the impossible.

What begins as a search for a hidden society grows into something more expansive, according to the film's synopsis: a passage through invisible worlds and unexpected harmonies, and ultimately a story about the bond between lost souls who find magic not only in what they discover but in one another. The picture is being positioned across adventure, family, fantasy and music, a blend that suits a holiday release aimed at multigenerational audiences.

Newcomer Theo Leber leads the cast as Victor. Around him and Johnson, the ensemble includes Regina Hall, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Arya Parvathi and Andrew Dice Clay, with Colman Domingo lending his voice to the production. The breadth of that lineup, mixing comedy mainstays with dramatic heavyweights, suggests Safdie is building something more textured than a typical studio family film.

Why Christmas 2027 Matters

The dating is a statement of intent. Christmas Day is among the few release slots that can turn a family adventure into a genuine event, and studios guard it jealously. By claiming December 25 well over a year in advance, Amazon MGM is signaling that it sees Lizard Music as a tentpole rather than a specialty title.

The move also extends Amazon MGM's push into year-end theatrical spectacle. The studio has been steadily assembling a slate designed to compete for the same audiences that turn out for big holiday releases, and a Johnson-led fantasy with a distinctive artistic signature fits that strategy neatly.

For Safdie, the film marks a notable departure after a run of tense, street-level dramas. His move into whimsical family territory is one of the more intriguing career pivots on the upcoming calendar, and the material's blend of loneliness, obsession and wonder offers him room to apply his character-driven instincts to a warmer canvas.

For Johnson, the role is a contrast to the globe-trotting blockbusters that made him one of the most bankable stars in the industry. The Chicken Man, paired with a septuagenarian bird, is a character defined by quirk rather than muscle, and the part could give him a different kind of showcase than audiences have come to expect.

Production Details and What Comes Next

The film is in English and is being produced within the Hollywood studio system. A runtime has not been announced, and the picture's TMDb rating currently sits at 0/10, a standard placeholder reflecting its unreleased status rather than any critical reception.

Little has been revealed about how the production will translate its more fantastical elements to the screen, or how the music at the heart of the story will factor into the final film. Given the release date is more than a year out, audiences should expect a first look at footage sometime in 2027, likely followed by a trailer push in the fall.

What is already clear is the shape of the gamble. Amazon MGM is betting that an offbeat, music-infused fantasy from an auteur director and a global movie star can carve out space on the busiest moviegoing weekend of the year. For now, Lizard Music has a date, a cast and a premise unlike anything else on the holiday schedule. That, in a season defined by familiarity, may be its most valuable asset.

Source: Hollywood Reporter