John Malkovich's new movie Wild Horse Nine earned a 14-minute ovation at Venice — and its release date has just been announced

Wild Horse Nine opens in US and UK theaters on November 6, a date Searchlight locked in and then confirmed with the official trailer in late September, fresh off the film's Venice premiere. It's Martin McDonagh's first feature since The Banshees of Inisherin four years ago — a dark spy comedy, 117 minutes, starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell with Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, and Tom Waits.

The Venice numbers first, since they're the headline. The September 3 world premiere in the Sala Grande ended in an ovation that Deadline clocked at 14 minutes, 44 seconds and Variety logged at 13 minutes — when a reaction is long enough that the trades' stopwatches disagree by a minute and a half, the exact figure stops mattering. Rockwell mouthed "wow" at the crowd. Malkovich fought back tears. Nine days later, the festival jury made it official and handed him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

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The Malkovich of it all

The Volpi lands on a very particular career. Malkovich has two Oscar nominations — Places in the Heart in 1984 and In the Line of Fire in 1993 — and nothing since, meaning one of the most imitated actors alive has gone 33 years without the Academy's attention. At a Venice press event, asked about the awards chatter around his performance, he deflected with four words:

"That is incredibly kind."

— John Malkovich, at a Venice press event, via The Credits

The audience was less restrained. Per Variety, the premiere crowd broke into applause mid-film twice: once during a Malkovich rant about cheese, and once when his character expressed a deep desire to visit Venice, Italy — a line that detonated in a room full of people watching it in Venice, Italy.

Why November 6 is a statement

For McDonagh, Venice is a launchpad with a flawless record. Wild Horse Nine is his third straight film to premiere there, and the previous two did fine for themselves:

• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Venice 2017): seven Oscar nominations, two wins — including Rockwell's Supporting Actor.
• The Banshees of Inisherin (Venice 2022): nine Oscar nominations, which famously converted into zero wins.
• Wild Horse Nine (Venice 2026): Golden Lion nominee, Volpi Cup winner, and a Searchlight release dated for the heart of awards season.

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Searchlight putting it on November 6 is the studio that ran Three Billboards, Banshees, Nomadland, and Poor Things placing this one on the same conveyor belt. The open question isn't whether the film enters the Oscar race — the ovation and the Volpi already did that. It's whether this is finally the McDonagh film that converts, and whether the Academy decides that 33 years is long enough to keep John Malkovich waiting.

Banshees went nine-for-zero on Oscar night. This time McDonagh arrives with the Volpi already in the suitcase.