Javier Bardem’s new movie has a date — and, yes, Best Actor chatter

Javier Bardem is back in the Oscar mix, this time with a Spanish drama called The Beloved. If you follow international films – or have a soft spot for anything Bardem touches – this one’s shaping up to be worth watching, both for the film itself and the awards noise swirling around it.

Movie, festival, and release dates

Let’s get the cut-and-dry out of the way: director Rodrigo Sorogoyen, who’s no stranger to awards circuits himself, helms The Beloved. The film already made its debut at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where it found an eager audience and picked up solid reviews. Now, Kino Lorber has grabbed the North American rights and is planning a U.S. award-qualifying theatrical run near the end of this year. After that, expect a broader cinema release in early 2027 – so you’ll have to be a bit patient if you’re not near one of the initial cities.

The Beloved hits a U.S. qualifying theatrical run before the end of 2026, with a bigger release in early 2027.

You’ll also see the film showing up at the Toronto Film Festival for its North American festival premiere, which should give it a further shot in the arm for awards chatter. After cinemas, Kino Lorber will spread the film across digital, educational, and home video platforms – so it should end up fairly accessible after the initial theatrical window.

Family drama, critical buzz, Oscar hopeful

Story-wise, Javier Bardem leads as Esteban Martínez, a decorated Spanish filmmaker. The plot kicks off when Esteban reconnects with his estranged daughter, Emilia (played by Victoria Luengo). Emilia, who hasn’t exactly lit up the acting world herself, teams up with her father to collaborate on a new film – which, as these things go, drags up loads of unresolved family mess. Expect confrontations, reckonings, and plenty of father-daughter tension driving the drama.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen co-wrote the script with regular collaborator Isabel Peña. The buzz at Cannes circled especially around Sorogoyen’s direction and Bardem’s performance – critics were impressed enough that Kino Lorber probably had no choice but to start polishing up their Oscars campaign talking points. The distributor looks set to put Bardem front and centre for Best Actor consideration.

Bardem’s Oscar play and the competition

Now, Bardem isn’t exactly new to the Academy’s radar. He’s collected four Oscar nominations over his career and was the first Spanish actor to actually take home a win – remember his cold turn as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007)? He’s also been up for the gong with Before Night Falls, The Sea Inside, and Biutiful, and anyone who’s followed his moves in projects from Skyfall to Dune knows he’s hardly been slacking.

But fair warning – the upcoming Best Actor field looks brutally crowded. We’re talking the likes of Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, John Malkovich, Robert Pattinson, and Sebastian Stan going up for it. Still, starting with a standing ovation out of Cannes never hurts, and with a solid release plan in motion, The Beloved might put Bardem right back in the middle of that awards circuit drama.