Bob Dylan Biopic “A Complete Unknown” to Release This Christmas

James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic, has secured its release date. The Timothée Chalamet-led film is set to premiere in theaters on Christmas Day.

Searchlight Pictures, the distributor for A Complete Unknown, made the announcement, confirming the nationwide release on December 25, 2024.

This makes 2024 the second consecutive year with a Chalamet Christmas release. Last year, in 2023, Paul King’s Wonka launched in theaters on December 15, 2023. The family-friendly film was a blockbuster, grossing over $630 million at the box office.

Time will tell if A Complete Unknown will achieve similar success. Biopics often have varied box office performance. For example, 20th Century Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody raked in over $900 million. Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury, won the Best Actor Oscar for his role.

James Mangold co-wrote (with Jay Cocks) and directed A Complete Unknown. The movie is based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric and focuses on Dylan’s transition to amplified music.

Timothée Chalamet stars as Bob Dylan and also serves as a producer. The film’s cast includes Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro, and Boyd Holbrook.

Mangold is no stranger to music biopics, having previously directed Walk the Line, a Johnny Cash biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix. In A Complete Unknown, Holbrook will portray Cash.

While Timothée Chalamet hopes for Oscar recognition for his role, A Complete Unknown will not participate in any festival screenings. Unlike most awards hopefuls, it will skip the Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and others.

This decision could be due to the tight timeline, as filming wrapped only recently, leaving insufficient time for a fall premiere. The filming for A Complete Unknown took place from March to June 2024. The process was delayed because of the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023. Currently, the movie is in post-production, gearing up for its December release.

Bob Dylan remains a music legend at 83, still actively producing music. His latest album, Shadow Kingdom, was released in 2023, marking over 30 studio albums in his career.

Dylan’s career began with his self-titled debut album in 1962. He gained more recognition with his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, featuring iconic tracks such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall.”

Perhaps his most famous album, Highway 61 Revisited, came out in 1965. It included timeless hits like “Like a Rolling Stone” and the title track. Apple Music listed it at 14 on their 100 Best Albums list.

Since June 7, 1988, Dylan has been on the Never Ending Tour. The tour continues to this day, and he is currently performing alongside Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp.

Shadow Kingdom, Dylan’s latest album, is his first original material since 2020’s Rough and Rowdy Ways. The album featured a single, “Watching the River Flow,” released on April 13, 2023.

A Complete Unknown will be released on December 25, 2024.

Source: Searchlight Pictures, Apple Music