The film took three years to reach theaters. Andrew Patterson's The Rivals of Amziah King premiered at SXSW in March 2025. It opens August 14, 2026, going wide August 21 via Black Bear Pictures, with 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The consensus is not about McConaughey. Critics keep returning to Angelina LookingGlass. The 22-year-old actress is making her feature debut as Kateri, the estranged foster daughter of Amziah King (McConaughey), a honey entrepreneur in rural Oklahoma. She arrives in the film without warning. It turns out she's the one you watch.
Reviewing the film at SXSW 2025, James Preston Poole gave it five stars at Discussing Film, writing that LookingGlass "doesn't only match McConaughey's enchanting screen presence but also surpasses him," and that she "has that genuine 'it' factor most actors will only ever come halfway towards achieving." She "essentially takes the reins as its true protagonist," Poole wrote, "making her feature acting debut all the more impressive." Variety's review headline called it a film that could make LookingGlass a star.
LookingGlass is Oglala Lakota, Navajo, Seneca, and Comanche. She trained at the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York in 2021. This is her first film credit.
The Filmland 2026 festival in Little Rock, Arkansas opens August 12 and screens the film on August 14, alongside a Q&A with McConaughey, who will also receive the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award at the event. Patterson directed The Vast of Night in 2019, a film that took a similarly indirect path to wide release before building a devoted audience. The question now is how fast LookingGlass's next credit arrives.
