Move over The Revenant, Cocaine Bear is here. While the former was based on a true story of a 19th century man surviving a bear attack and then going out for revenge, Cocaine Bear is inspired by the stranger-than-fiction true tale of a bear on a drug trip.
With Elizabeth Banks and the team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller behind the camera, the movie is poised to be a wild, darkly comedic retelling of the incident that you're just going to have to see to believe (Twitter certainly can't believe this is a real movie).
Here is everything that you need to know about Cocaine Bear.
Cocaine Bear release date
An early entry to the slate of 2023 movies, Cocaine Bear releases on February 24 in the US, UK and most of the world exclusively in movie theaters.
We can't help but mention that this R-rated comedy with the spectacular title of Cocaine Bear just so happens to share its release date with a movie called Jesus Revolution. Gotta love that fun bit of programming.
Tickets for Cocaine Bear are now on sale.
Cocaine Bear trailer
The best way to truly understand what lies in store with Cocaine Bear is by watching the trailer. So we'll just let that speak for itself below (FYI, it is NSFW).
You can also see a behind-the-scenes look at the movie right here:
Cocaine Bear plot
By now you probably get the gist of what Cocaine Bear is about — a wild bear eats a bag of cocaine and then goes on a rampage — but here is the official synopsis for the movie:
"Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a co*ke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood."
The script was written by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen).
Cocaine Bear cast
It's a great lineup of actors making up the Cocaine Bear cast, but we'll start with recognizing the late Ray Liotta. After his tragic passing in 2022, Cocaine Bear is going to be one of the last times that we get to see the Goodfellas and Field of Dreams star on the big screen.
But he's not the only big name starring in the movie. Keri Russell (The Americans), O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Christian Convery-Jennings (Sweet Tooth), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Brooklyn Prince (The Florida Project), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (BlackKklansman), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Hannah Hoekstra (Charlie's Angels), Aaron Holliday (Sharp Objects) and Margo Martindale (The Americans) all star in the film.
Cocaine Bear reviews — what the critics are saying
The reviews are coming in for Cocaine Bear, including What to Watch's. Our Cocaine Bear review details how this B-movie confidently delivers just about everything you could want from the promise of its title in hilarious, gory fashion.
As for how Cocaine Bear is holding up with others, the first batch of reviews look good, with the movie scoring quite well on Rotten Tomatoes.
What is Cocaine Bear rated?
No surprise here, Cocaine Bear is rated R in the US for "bloody violence and gore, drug content and language throughout." An official rating for the UK has not been issued.
How long is Cocaine Bear?
Cocaine Bear comes in with a runtime of one hour and 35 minutes.
Cocaine Bear director
Elizabeth Banks is behind-the-scenes as the director of Cocaine Bear (she is also producing with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller). While Banks is first and foremost known as an actress, she has directed a number of big movies in recent years, including Pitch Perfect 2 and 2019's Charlie's Angels reboot. This is the first time that we're seeing Banks play in the dark comedy and R-rating area, so that should be fun to see.
Banks did an interview with Variety about the movie, where she acknowledges the wacky nature of the movie and says that it could be "a career ender."
Cocaine Bear video game
In line with the wacky nature of the movie, an 8-bit Cocaine Bear video game is now available to play online. What's the highest score you can get?
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Michael Balderston
Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.
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