‘Mickey 17’ Gets Max Streaming Release Date

Viewers can soon take a trip to the icy planet Niflheim right from their living room, as Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17” will stream on Max beginning May 23.

Based on the book “Mickey 7” by Edward Ashton, “Mickey 17” racks up the number of times that Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) dies. As an expendable employee sent out on dangerous missions, Mickey is simply reprinted every time something goes astray. But after two Mickeys unexpectedly wake up on the same day, Mickey must keep his double identity a secret while learning to find his humanity in Bong’s eccentric sci-fi satire.

“Mickey 17” marks Bong’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” which made history as the first international film to win best picture at the Academy Awards. Pattinson stars alongside Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette.

When it released in the U.S. on March 7, “Mickey 17” opened with $19 million, a dreary opening for a film that cost $118 to make. Estimates project the film will lose $75 million to $80 million for Warner Bros by the end of its run. Its breakeven point would have needed to be around $300 million.

Reviews have been mixed, with Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge calling the film’s themes “recycled” in his review, making it “not clear that any useful allegories are to be drawn from Bong’s darkly comedic parable.”

Prior to “Mickey 17” and “Parasite,” Bong directed critically acclaimed films like “Memories of Murder,” “Snowpiercer,” “Okja” and “Mother.” He currently has an exhibit dedicated to his filmography at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.