Danny Boyle's 'Ink' Scores Big at Venice, and Critics Are Already Buzzing Before Its Netflix Debut

Danny Boyle has built a career out of restless, kinetic storytelling, jumping from zombie outbreaks to Olympic ceremonies to biopics without ever settling into one lane. His latest swing takes him somewhere entirely new: the smoke-filled, ink-stained newsroom of 1960s Fleet Street.

‘Ink‘ reimagines the birth of modern tabloid journalism through the lens of Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of The Sun, adapted by playwright James Graham from his own Tony-winning stage production. Jack O’Connell leads as Larry Lamb, the ambitious editor tasked with reinventing the failing paper, while Guy Pearce plays Murdoch and Claire Foy rounds out the cast as Jules Davies, a reporter caught in the paper’s chaotic rise.

Early reception is already turning heads. Reviews gathered so far have the film sitting at a strong 85 percent on the Tomatometer across dozens of critics, a promising sign for a movie that’s positioning itself as one of the season’s more unexpected awards contenders.

That momentum kicked off in a big way, with ‘Ink’ selected as the opening film of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, premiering in competition on September 2 in the Sala Grande. It’s Boyle’s first time opening the Biennale, and he didn’t hold back describing what drew him to the material.

“1969 – the year we first walked on the moon – and the year Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb launched a newspaper that was to change the world far more,” Boyle said in his statement announcing the film at La Biennale di Venezia. He went on to frame Murdoch and Lamb’s tabloid as a precursor to everything from Fox News to social media outrage cycles, calling their creation cheeky, irreverent, and daring.

Set against the backdrop of the moon landing, the film follows Murdoch’s acquisition of The Sun and his partnership with Lamb to transform it into Britain’s biggest-selling tabloid, going head-to-head with its rival, The Mirror. The story leans into the era’s messy mix of ambition, tabloid excess, and media disruption, themes that feel pointed given how much has changed, and hasn’t, since.

The film’s teaser trailer promises something loud and propulsive, in keeping with Boyle’s reputation, billing itself as an explosive cinematic look at a group of misfits determined to reinvent the news. That energy tracks with the tone critics have responded to so far, judging by the film’s strong early scores.

Behind the camera, Boyle assembled a team with serious pedigree. Cinematographer Alwin H. Küchler and composer Daniel Pemberton, fresh off scoring ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ join a production backed by StudioCanal, Media Res, and House Productions, with Boyle producing alongside Tracey Seaward, Tessa Ross, and Michael Ellenberg.

For anyone circling their calendars, ‘Ink’ arrives in select theaters starting December 11, giving it a run through the heart of awards season before expanding. It then heads to Netflix in the United States and Latin America on January 8, with a UK theatrical release from StudioCanal landing the same day.

That staggered rollout mirrors the strategy studios often use for prestige titles hoping to build critical buzz before a wider streaming push, and given the response out of Venice, it seems to be working in ‘Ink’s’ favor. Whether the film can carry that momentum through its theatrical window and into award conversations remains to be seen, but the early signs point toward Boyle having another hit on his hands.

With O’Connell, Pearce, and Foy all turning in what early word suggests are award-worthy performances, ‘Ink’ looks positioned to be one of the more talked-about awards season releases once it reaches wider audiences.