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Your fall movie schedule just got a bit more heated: Yes, Heated Rivalry—the hit hockey romance series that brought Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, a pretty great parody musical and an "All the Things She Said" cultural renaissance into our lives—will be jumping off its usual streaming platforms of HBO Max and Crave for a limited-engagement theatrical release nationwide beginning next month.
From November 6 through November 30, theatergoers can "reheat" the acclaimed series across three batched screenings, each consisting of two episodes: You'll be able to watch episodes one and two ("Rookies" and "Olympians") together, followed by episodes three and four ("Hunter" and "Rose") as a paired session, and episodes five and six ("I'll Believe in Anything" and "The Cottage") rounding things out as a tearful twofer.
Tickets are priced under $10 for each screening ($9.99 to be exact, before tax), and the engagement will roll out across 650 movie theaters nationwide, including at chains like Regal, AMC, and Cinemark. (For our friends up north, the series will also hit the big screen in its native Canada via Cineplex movie theaters.) Participating locations will offer themed cocktails during the theater run, including the fittingly titled "Summer in Montreal" and "Russians Don't Blush."
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“Heated Rivalry is a global phenomenon creating a rush of social media and press activity wherever it lands. We’re very excited to give audiences the opportunity to watch the drama unfold on big screens in North America, the UK, Australia & New Zealand,” said Hana Palmer, Sphere Abacus’ executive director of global distribution and partnerships, said in a release. (Sphere Abacus is distributing the series in partnership with its home network, Crave.)
That's great news for stans of Shane Hollander (Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Storrie), the fictional hockey superstars whose steamy situationship is at the heart of the Peabody-winning drama, as they'll get to watch the duo's years-spanning secret courtship play out on the big screen alongside fellow HR superfans. (Fans of SKIP, don't worry: You'll see episode 3's Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.) swooning over each other in large format, too.)
But it's the very intensity of the Heated Rivalry fandom that may give theatergoers pause—concerns have been raised over social media regarding fan behavior during screenings of the famously horny drama, from people getting up to dance during the infamous club scene of episode four, to reciting quotable lines out loud ("I'm coming to the cottage," "Wow, genetic," et al.), to particularly, ahem, lively reactions to the show's many intimate scenes. (Remember the whole cucumber fiasco during Fifty Shades of Grey screenings? Yeah, that.)
"I can't watch Heated Rivalry in a theater because I will get irrationally pissed off as soon as people start hooting and hollering and ruining my watch experience," one fan posted on X, to more than one thousand likes. Another user added: "Do I want to subject myself to people who will throw their theatre etiquette out the window in favor of being insufferable and annoying?"
In a post-COVID age, theater etiquette is already very much on the decline in general, so it's a valid concern, especially for a pop-culture property as passionate as Heated Rivalry. That being said, HR fans have already experienced the show in public settings, with outdoor screenings and barroom marathons held across North America and beyond. And they've largely been happy, novel affairs, full of queer joy and hockey enthusiasm (see L.A. content creator Francis Dominic's live reporting from a West Hollywood watch party below for spirited proof).
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So fingers crossed that Heated Rivalry the movie marathon experience will be more of the cheerful (albeit well-behaved) same. Regardless, it's a fun distraction while we all wait for Shane, Ilya and Co. to hit the ice again for the upcoming second season.