Which Safdie Brother Will Reign (Marty) Supreme?

The Safdie Brothers had a good thing going as a directing and writing duo, breaking out with 2017’s Good Time before hitting the big time with 2019’s Adam Sandler flick, Uncut Gems. After that, however, the two decided to go their own way: Benny took on more acting roles Happy Gilmore 2, Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret?, Oppenheimer) before directing Dwayne Johnson in Smashing Machine.

That didn’t work out so well for either Benny or The Rock, the latter of whom was angling hard for an Oscar before the film flopped and he went straight back to the franchise well. The film finished with $11.3 million stateside and $20 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.

Josh, meanwhile, has been quieter (although he did direct an Adam Sandler Netflix special). But this Christmas, he’s headed to theaters with Timothée Chalamet’s Marty Supreme. Will he best his brother at the box office and in terms of awards?

It seems like an easy task, but Marty Supreme is a 1950s set movie about … ping pong. Can Chalamet sell that to Christmas audiences? It won’t be my first choice (that’s Anaconda), but I would rate it ahead of the other two Christmas releases, Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson’s Song Sung Blue and Amanda Seyfried’s The Testament of Ann Lee. If it’s a crowd-pleaser, it should also play well over the holidays. And everyone knows that the ping pong era was the best part of Forrest Gump. Do I think that Marty Supreme will be a huge hit? I do not. But $50 million at the box office and an Oscar nom for Chalamet doesn’t seem out of reach.

Here’s the full-length trailer. I’m into it.

Marty Supreme opens on Christmas Day. It also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, and sure, why not: Fran Drescher.