The Bikeriders
Short description
The Bikeriders follows a Midwestern motorcycle club called the Vandals across the 1960s. Kathy, a strong-willed woman, becomes involved with Benny, a rider whose life revolves around the club and its leader, Johnny. Over the years the Vandals grow from a loose gathering of local outsiders into something far more dangerous, and Benny finds himself pulled between his marriage and his loyalty to Johnny and the club. The story is told largely through Kathy's perspective as she watches the group change around them.
Jeff Nichols wrote and directed the film, which sits between Loving and Midnight Special in his filmography and came after Loving and Midnight Special, both released in 2016; Love Letter to Texas followed in 2026. Austin Butler plays Benny, Jodie Comer plays Kathy, and Tom Hardy plays Johnny, with Michael Shannon, Mike Faist and Boyd Holbrook among the supporting cast. Arnon Milchan, Sarah Green and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones produced the film, which runs 116 minutes.
Released in June 2024, the film had a production budget of about 40 million dollars and took roughly 36 million dollars worldwide, a modest return against its cost. On IMDb it holds a 6.6 rating from around 77,000 votes, and on TMDB a 6.7 from about 1,200 votes. A critics' rating of 6.9 from 284 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was inspired by the photo book of the same name by journalist and human rights activist Danny Lyon, published in 1968, which tells about the iconic Outlaws Motorcycle Club or American Outlaws Association. To write this book, Lyon lived with members of the club for 4 years and even became a full member.
- After completing filming on each movie, Tom Hardy (who played Johnny here) always takes something from the props as a souvenir. After finishing filming with Jeff Nichols, he took a motorcycle.
- Filming ended in 2022, and the first trailers and posters appeared in 2023. The film sat on the shelf for over a year while distribution issues were being resolved. Initially, it was a project of 20th Century Fox, but Disney – the current owner of the film company – was delaying the film's release for some reason. The film was sold to various distributors in different countries, but they were reluctant to release it theatrically due to the numerous premieres scheduled for 2023, and the film was shelved.
- Austin Butler nearly suffered an injury during filming (he played Benny). He was instructed to ride a motorcycle to the corner of the street, the wheel hit wet leaves, the motorcycle swerved, and Butler lost control. Fortunately, he managed to jump off the wobbling motorcycle before it crashed into something.
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