Chance the Rapper will make his feature film debut in A24’s “Slice,” and the distributor is taking a page out of Queen Bey’s book, dropping the film online without much warning.
The distributor will bypass the traditional release methods and instead drop the film on iTunes, digital and on-demand at midnight on Sep. 11.
But the film will still play in theaters — A24 hosted a premiere for “Slice” in Chance’s hometown of Chicago, along with simulcast screenings in 20 additional cities across the country. Alas, as of right now, that’s all the big screen time the movie will see. A24 has no plans to release “Slice” in additional theaters.
Written and directed by Austin Vesely, who has directed a couple of Chance’s music videos, “Slice” plays like a hyper stylized whodunit featuring various creatures of the night. The film follows the events in a spooky small town, when a slew of pizza delivery boys are slain on the job, two daring survivors (Chance and Zazie Beetz) set out to catch the culprits behind the cryptic crime spree. Looks like they may hit a bump or two along the way, as they find out the pizza delivery place is (spoiler alert!) built on a gateway to hell. Yeah, the joint’s owner can’t believe it either — though apparently he’s been told before.
Along with Chance and Beetz, Paul Scheer, Rae Gray and “Stranger Things” star Joe Keery also star in the horror comedy.
Matt Donnelly contributed to this reporting.