Behemoth! plays New York on 2 October and London on 13 October, then opens 4 December

Tony Gilroy's Behemoth! is scheduled to move through a festival calendar that starts in New York in early October and reaches London the same month. Searchlight Pictures is the distributor, and the US release is scheduled for 4 December. Pedro Pascal leads the cast as Alex Serian, a cellist who returns to Los Angeles to compose film scores.

The film was scheduled to have its world premiere as the Centerpiece selection of the 64th New York Film Festival on Friday, 2 October, at Alice Tully Hall. The BFI London Film Festival lists it in its Patrons' Gala section, with a first London screening at 18:00 on Tuesday, 13 October. The BFI listing does not state whether Pascal will attend the London screening.

A Centerpiece slot in the second week of New York's festival

Film at Lincoln Center announced the Centerpiece selection on 28 July 2026. TheWrap and Awards Radar also covered it. The 64th New York Film Festival was scheduled to run from 25 September to 12 October and was presented by Film at Lincoln Center in partnership with Rolex. The premiere was scheduled for the second week of that run, at Alice Tully Hall. TheWrap also reports that James Gray's Paper Tiger will open the festival, and that Ava DuVernay's documentary 14th will close it on 9 October.

Gilroy, Pascal and other cast members were expected to attend the premiere, according to the festival's announcement. Gilroy said NYFF "has always been the benchmark for me" and called the Centerpiece invitation "a fantasy I’ve conjured more times than I care to admit."

Single tickets were scheduled to go on sale to the public on Tuesday, 15 September, at noon ET. Film at Lincoln Center members and pass holders were to have pre-sale access, and joining the membership by 28 August would secure it, according to Awards Radar.

The selection committee is chaired by Dennis Lim, the festival's artistic director, with Florence Almozini, Justin Chang and Rachel Rosen, according to Awards Radar. Lim praised the film as "immaculately crafted" and called Pascal's performance "a tour de force" and "one of the performances of the year."

What the film follows, and who is in it

Alex Serian is a former child prodigy and cellist. He leaves an orchestra job in Chicago after a soured relationship and returns to Los Angeles to record Hollywood film scores and resolve unfinished family business. The BFI listing calls the script 'rich in narrative textures' and says it shifts across time.

The story moves through flashbacks and original film-score compositions, reaching back to Alex's childhood in a musical family. Olivia Wilde plays Carol Spedding, Alex's ex-girlfriend, and Eva Victor plays Nadia, a colleague and new love interest. Will Arnett plays Andy Serian, Alex's brother, and Hank Azaria plays Peter Serian, the father.

Supporting roles go to Alexa Swinton, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, JoBeth Williams, Margarita Levieva, Matthew Lillard, Barry Livingston and Adam Rose. Gilroy wrote and directed the film and produced it with Sanne Wohlenberg and John Gilroy, who also edited it. Damián García is the cinematographer.

The music comes from The Behemoth! Collective, nine composers including James Newton Howard and Alan Silvestri. The others are Brandon Roberts, Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Michael Giacchino, Henry Jackman and Nami Melumad.

Gilroy's earlier work includes the Disney+ series Andor, which ran for two seasons and earned 22 Emmy nominations and two Peabody Awards, according to TheWrap. He also wrote the first three Bourne films, directed The Bourne Legacy and co-wrote Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, according to Awards Radar.

How the project moved from Oscar Isaac to Pedro Pascal

Gilroy was announced as writer-director in March 2025, with Oscar Isaac attached to star. By August 2025 Isaac had exited, Pedro Pascal was in negotiations and Searchlight had acquired the project. Pascal was confirmed in October 2025, when David Harbour, Eva Victor and Olivia Wilde also joined.

Principal photography ran from 27 October 2025 to 23 January 2026 in Los Angeles. In January 2026, Harbour exited to rest, citing being overwhelmed by the final season of Stranger Things, and Will Arnett replaced him. Erik Griffin and Adam Rose later joined the cast.

Wikipedia also lists a Rotten Tomatoes score of 85% positive from 33 reviews, with an average of 7.2 out of 10. It lists a Metacritic score of 71 out of 100 from 13 critics. Critics praised Pascal's performance, Gilroy's direction and the score, and criticized the writing and structure.

London listings, access features and ticket terms

The BFI lists the film at 127 minutes, while Wikipedia gives 124 minutes. The BFI introduction is by Kristy Matheson, and the London Film Festival runs from 7 to 18 October. Three London screenings are listed: 13 October at 18:00, 14 October at 11:00 and 16 October at 15:20. The BFI page does not name venues.

Each screening carries audio description. The 13 and 14 October screenings add Closed Captions through WatchWord smart glasses, and the 16 October screening offers descriptive subtitles instead. The listing carries a content advisory for nudity and sex.

The BFI page sets out its general terms for London events. Tickets start from £10, with concessions for many screenings. Non-members pay a £1 booking fee per ticket for online and phone bookings, capped at £3 per transaction, and box office purchases carry no fee.

People aged 16 to 25 can sign up free to BFI 25 and Under for a chance at £6 tickets without booking fees, subject to availability, and BFI Membership gives early booking access. The page also links to ticket availability and to information on extra releases and standby queues.

The December release and the rest of the calendar

The 15th Montclair Film Festival is scheduled to close with the film on 25 October. The Gala section of the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival is listed for 28 October. The 62nd Chicago International Film Festival is also among the scheduled screenings, with no date given.

The US release is scheduled for Friday, 4 December. From the New York premiere on 2 October to the US opening on 4 December is nine weeks. The July announcements from Awards Radar and TheWrap name Searchlight as distributor but give no release date. The BFI credits the film as courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

Taken together, the listed sequence runs from New York on 2 October to London from 13 October, Montclair on 25 October, Tokyo on 28 October and the US release on 4 December. Montclair, Tokyo and the US dates are all listed as scheduled.

So far the public listings cover a festival path and a release date. The BFI listing names Pascal first among the cast, and Film at Lincoln Center named him among the expected premiere attendees. The remaining listed London screenings are on 14 and 16 October.