Lionsgate is officially betting big on Day Drinker, the upcoming supernatural revenge thriller starring Johnny Depp. The studio has now locked March 26, 2027 as the movie’s theatrical release date after moving around several projects on its schedule. Interestingly, that exact release slot was originally reserved for The Resurrection of the Christ before the Mel Gibson-directed sequel got delayed earlier this week. Now Depp’s comeback thriller has quietly taken over that major date instead.
Directed by Marc Webb, the film also stars Madelyn Cline and Penélope Cruz. The story follows a private-yacht bartender played by Cline who crosses paths with a mysterious passenger portrayed by Depp. What starts as a strange encounter reportedly spirals into a dangerous web involving a criminal figure played by Cruz, with hidden connections between the characters slowly unfolding. Lionsgate is keeping most plot details secret for now, but the studio is clearly positioning the movie as a stylish psychological thriller with dark revenge elements mixed into it.
Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz Reunite Again on Screen
One thing already getting attention online is Depp and Cruz reuniting once again after several successful collaborations over the years. Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz previously shared screen space in Blow, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Murder on the Orient Express. Their chemistry has usually been one of the strongest parts of those projects, so many fans are curious to see them paired together again inside a darker thriller setting.
The project is being produced by Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, the same producers behind the hugely successful John Wick series. That alone has already sparked speculation that “Day Drinker” could lean heavily into stylish violence and slick cinematic tension similar to modern action-thrillers audiences have embraced recently. Zach Dean wrote the screenplay, while production companies Thunder Road, IN.2 and Nostromo are all involved alongside Lionsgate and 30West.
Lionsgate Continues Major Release Schedule Shake-Up
The release announcement comes during a much bigger reshuffling of Lionsgate’s upcoming slate. Alongside moving “Day Drinker” into March 2027, the studio also delayed The Resurrection of the Christ and pushed its second installment all the way into 2028. Those shifts suggest Lionsgate is carefully reorganizing some of its biggest upcoming theatrical releases instead of overcrowding the same period.
For Depp specifically, the project also marks another important step in rebuilding his mainstream Hollywood career after years dominated by legal battles and controversy. While the actor has continued working internationally, “Day Drinker” feels like one of his more commercially ambitious studio projects in a long time. Pairing him with recognizable stars like Madelyn Cline and Penélope Cruz while attaching producers from the John Wick universe definitely signals that Lionsgate sees serious blockbuster potential in the film.
Right now, plot details are still limited, but the combination of Depp, psychological thriller elements and supernatural revenge themes has already made “Day Drinker” one of the more intriguing studio projects sitting on the 2027 release calendar.
