Magazine Dreams

"Never stop dreaming."

2025 2h 3m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🍅

80%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 118🍅80%Rotten Tomatoes●65Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 3,871

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox struggles to find human connection in an exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of superstardom, not even the doctors who warn him of the permanent damage he causes to himself with his quest.

“Never stop dreaming.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jonathan Majors
Killian Maddox
Haley Bennett
Jessie
Taylour Paige
Pink Coat
Harrison Page
William Latimore
Harriet Sansom Harris
Patricia Waldron
Mike O'Hearn
Brad Vanderhorn
Bradley Stryker
Ken Donaghue
Craig Cackowski
Middle Aged Man

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Elijah Bynum
Writers: Sienne Josselin Mascareñas Diaz, Elijah Bynum
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Elijah Bynum, shot by Adam Arkapaw. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jason Hill. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jon Otazua shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Jonathan Majors and Haley Bennett and Taylour Paige carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Never stop dreaming.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt13652142 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Elijah Bynum directs. Adam Arkapaw behind the camera. Jason Hill scores. Jon Otazua cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Directed by Elijah Bynum, shot by Adam Arkapaw. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Jason Hill. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Jon Otazua shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jonathan Majors and Haley Bennett and Taylour Paige carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Never stop dreaming.".
7IMDB entry: tt13652142 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Adam Arkapaw
Original score: Jason Hill
Editing: Jon Otazua
Production design: Freyja Bardell
Costume design: Bex Crofton-Atkins
Makeup / hair: Andreya Joseph
VFX supervisor: Federico La Tona
Sound: Brian Tarlecki
Stunt coordinator: Phil Culotta
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,076,099
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Magazine Dreams (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 65/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 3,871 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 4 nominations total

Sundance Special Jury Prize for Distinctive Vision in Filmmaking

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Elijah Bynum

Hot Summer Nights
2018 · ★ 6.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2025-03-26
★ 7/10
Toxic masculinity is a topic that has garnered increased attention in recent years, addressed in various outlets from TV talk shows to social media to myriad print resources. And now, in the latest offering from writer-director Elijah Bynum, the subject has made its way to the big screen (although it almost didn’t – see below). This character study of amateur bodybuilder Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors) follows the life of this highly disciplined competitor who’s little known in the field but is determined to one day win major titles and fulfill his dreams of gracing magazine covers devoted to the sport. However, try as he might, Killian never seems to fully realize his aspirations, a tremendous source of personal frustration, particularly when his chiseled physique is (at least in his mind) unduly criticized. He’s obsessed with trying to figure out what he’s doing wrong, not only in sculpting his physical prowess, but also in his interpersonal dealings. It’s an exasperating exercise that often subsequently leads to angry outbursts, exaggerated responses to his circumstances and fits of emotional self-flagellation. To compensate, he earnestly engages in internet searches about ways to get others to like him and to find the means to be remembered, efforts that feed his many personal demons and contribute to an ever-downward spiral of his health, self-esteem and grasp on reality, all of which bring out the toxic masculinity festering within him. His unsettling lack of fulfillment, combined with his considerable pent-up physical strength, makes for quite a volatile mix, raising serious questions about whether he can ultimately contain it. While the film tries to cover a little too much ground at times and features some script elements that come across as wholly implausible, the picture nevertheless offers valuable insights into the nature and source of where this behavior comes from, as well as the hope for redemption, no matter how seemingly remote. The narrative also pays homage to other pictures that chillingly profile the lives of troubled loners like Killian, very much in the same vein as the works of writer-director Paul Schrader, most notably “Taxi Driver” (1976) and “First Reformed” (2017). To be honest, though, I was quite stunned to see this offering actually make its way into release. Having been originally scheduled for opening during the 2023 awards season, “Magazine Dreams” was dropped from its distributor’s schedule when troubling allegations about Majors’ offscreen abusive behavior began to surface, incidents that would eventually land him in court. In short order, one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars suddenly became one of the movie industry’s biggest pariahs. And, with that, it seemed that this picture – a hot contender for awards consideration at the time – would forever vanish into the ether, relegated to the ranks of films that would never again see the light of day. However, this offering has since managed to secure a new distributor, and it is now playing theatrically (and rather widely at that). It’s arguably regrettable that Majors’ fortunes have faltered as they have, because he turns in a phenomenal performance here in what would have almost assuredly earned him awards season accolades. This release thus provides a potent cautionary tale about the perils and consequences of toxic masculinity. Indeed, it’s understandable how moviegoers might want to shun this release in light of the controversies surrounding its protagonist. At the same time, though, if we as a society ever hope to understand what drives this kind of behavior, we’d be wise to take a good, hard look at it so that we can see how it arises, find ways to dispel it and keep it from inflicting any further harm on those it victimizes – and those who fall prey to it in the first place.

Production companies