An upcoming sports comedy–drama film ‘Next Goal Wins’ was set to release on September 22nd but the distribution company Searchlight Pictures has postponed back the release date.
The film is directed by Taika Waititi and is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. The filming of the film began in November 2019 and wrapped in January 2020 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
According to Wikipedia, The film was earlier set to release in April 2023 but the film has to undergo reshoots because Armie Hammer left after the actor accused multiple women of sexual assault in the film and now the film is set to release in November 17th. 2023.
Armie Hammer was playing the role-playing of a soccer executive working at the Football Federation American Samoa and then Will Arnett replaced Hammer in that role.
The film follows Thomas Rongen a Dutch-American football coach who is tasked with turning the American Samoa national team which at the time they were one of the weakest football teams in the world, into an elite squad.
The film Next Goal Wins stars Michael Fassbender as Thomas Rongen along with Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Lehi Falepapalangi, Semu Filipo, Uli Latukefu, Rachel House, and Kaimana.
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Update: ‘Next Goal Wins’ Finally Opened to Mixed Reviews and a Soft Box Office
Updated July 2026. After the delay, Taika Waititi’s soccer comedy eventually reached theaters on November 17, 2023, via Searchlight Pictures, following a festival premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival that September. Michael Fassbender stars as real-life coach Thomas Rongen, who took over American Samoa’s infamously winless national soccer team, with Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, Rachel House, and Elisabeth Moss rounding out the cast. The film underperformed at the box office, opening to just $2.5 million and finishing with roughly $18.6 million worldwide. Critics were split — 46% on Rotten Tomatoes and a “mixed or average” 44 on Metacritic — though audiences responded more warmly, awarding it a B+ CinemaScore and an 86% positive PostTrak score.
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