The Rivals of Amziah King trailer drops, Birmingham film buzz builds toward August release

The new trailer for The Rivals of Amziah King does more than put Matthew McConaughey back in front of fans. It sends another clear signal that a Birmingham-made production shot across the metro in 2023 is still moving, still visible, and still headed toward a real theatrical release.

For Alabama film watchers, that matters because this is the kind of project that turns local streets, neighborhoods, and crews into part of a national release cycle. The movie was filmed in Alabama in 2023, with principal photography wrapping in early August, and local reporting said the production was expected to spend about $8 million in the state. More than two years later, the film is now back in the conversation because the trailer has arrived and the release calendar is locked in.

The story centers on a backwoods Oklahoma setting, where Amziah King, played by McConaughey, runs a honey-making operation and leads a musically gifted crew with a bluegrass edge. SXSW’s synopsis says the plot turns when his estranged foster daughter comes back into his life, pulling the operation into a family conflict over loyalty, survival, and who gets to control the business. Kurt Russell joins the cast alongside Angelina LookingGlass, Cole Sprouse, Scott Shepherd, Rob Morgan, and Tony Revolori, giving the film the kind of ensemble that tends to keep an indie on festival and box office watch lists alike.

The movie first premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, where it reportedly received a standing ovation. Black Bear Pictures now has it set for a limited theatrical release on August 14, 2026, with a wider rollout beginning August 21. That timeline gives Birmingham another bragging point: a film shot here is not just sitting on a shelf or drifting through development, but moving from festival buzz into national distribution.

The release also lands in a broader Alabama production moment that helped make the film possible in the first place. Birmingham-area reporting put 2023 film production in and around the city at close to $35 million, showing how much work was flowing through the region as this movie was being made. Alabama’s rebate program can award up to $20 million annually, rising to $22 million for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2026, and the state offers a 25% refundable credit for qualifying in-state spending. Film Birmingham, which serves the Greater Birmingham region, continues to connect productions with local crews and locations, and this trailer is the latest proof that those connections can lead to a finished movie with a national audience.