Ben Affleck’s Addiction Drama Set for Awards-Season Release

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Warner Bros. has given Ben Affleck’s untitled addiction drama an awards-season-friendly release date of Oct. 18.

The film, which has been known previously as “The Has-Been” and “Torrance,” is directed by Gavin O’Connor and stars Affleck as a former basketball player struggling with addiction, which has led to him losing his wife. As part of his recovery, he becomes the coach of a high school basketball team at his alma mater.

Affleck is a producer on the movie, along with O’Connor, Jennifer Todd, Gordon Gray, and Ravi Mehta. The script was written by Brad Ingelsby and O’Connor. The film also stars Al Madrigal as the assistant coach, Janina Gavankar, Hayes MacArthur, Brandon Wilson, and Rachael Carpani.

Affleck and O’Connor last collaborated on the 2016 drama “The Accountant,” which generated $155 million at the worldwide box office.

Warner Bros. also announced on Friday that it has moved the drama “The Goldfinch” forward to Sept. 13 from Oct. 11. Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson, and Ansel Elgort star in the adaptation of Donna Tartt’s novel, which centers on a boy who is taken in by a wealthy family after his mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Additionally, the studio is moving Melissa McCarthy’s comedy “Superintelligence” forward to Dec. 20 from Christmas Day.