Heart of the Beast: Out of Competition and Still Undated

*Heart of the Beast* is part of the Official Selection at the 74th San Sebastián Film Festival, but it is screening out of competition. The David Ayer survival film runs 101 minutes, stars Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe, and had a festival screening announced. As of September 21, 2026, however, the official sources reviewed here did not provide an international commercial release date. A festival berth therefore does not mean the film has reached theaters or that it is competing for the Golden Shell.

What San Sebastián confirmed

The film’s official listing identifies *Heart of the Beast* as a 101-minute, English-language US production presented in DCP format. It appears in the Official Selection with the explicit label “Not in competition.”

That distinction matters. “Official Selection” identifies the program section in which a title appears; it does not automatically place every film in the main awards race. The festival’s own announcement said the 74th edition would include 17 films in competition, three out of competition and five Special Screenings. *Heart of the Beast* belongs to the second group, so its participation should not be described as a bid for the Golden Shell.

The announcement planned a screening attended by Brad Pitt and David Ayer. That records what was announced in August, not subsequent confirmation that both appeared. The official September 21 agenda lists Ayer’s arrival at the María Cristina Hotel, while Pitt is absent from the arrivals excerpt. The supplied pages also do not confirm that the screening had already taken place. The accurate wording is therefore that a screening was announced.

What the film is about

Brad Pitt plays James Belmont, a former Special Forces officer who survives a plane crash and becomes stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Alongside Odin, his retired combat dog, he must contend with the environment in a struggle to survive.

The official synopsis presents the bond between the man and dog as the adventure thriller’s emotional center. It offers no further details about antagonists, the ending or the circumstances preceding the crash. Nor does it support more specific labels such as war drama or true story. For readers trying to identify the project, the confirmed ingredients are survival, isolation, a plane crash and the relationship between Belmont and Odin.

Confirmed cast and crew

Alongside Pitt, the announced cast includes J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe. David Ayer directs from a screenplay by Cameron Alexander. The film listing credits Mauro Fiore with cinematography, Dody Dorn with editing, Jared Michael Fry with music and Laurent Kossayan with sound.

Production companies include Wild Chickens Productions, Temple Hill Entertainment and Kino World / Plan B Entertainment, with Domain Entertainment and Gulfstream Pictures listed as co-producers. The festival announcement also names Pitt, Olivia Hamilton, Marty Bowen and Ayer as producers, with Damien Chazelle among the executive producers.

Ayer and Pitt have a direct previous collaboration: the filmmaker directed the actor in *Fury*, released in 2014. The festival also places Ayer’s career in context through *End of Watch* and *The Beekeeper*, as well as his screenplays for *U-571* and *Training Day*. Those references help identify the creative background of the new project but do not establish its artistic outcome.

What Paramount’s presentation added

Before the San Sebastián announcement, Paramount had already featured the film in its CinemaCon presentation for exhibitors. According to the studio’s official account, attendees were shown special footage emphasizing the story’s dramatic stakes. The company described the project as a survival thriller starring Pitt and directed by Ayer.

The segment belonged to a presentation centered on Paramount’s theatrical strategy. It consequently shows that the studio promoted *Heart of the Beast* as a movie intended for cinemas. Even so, the page supplied dates for several other releases but none for this film. The schedule of neighboring titles and the studio’s broader strategy cannot be used to infer a specific release window.

What remains unconfirmed

The reviewed sources provide no commercial release day, country-by-country calendar, advance ticket-sale date or streaming launch. They also do not support treating a festival screening as a regular public release in Spain, Brazil or any other market.

That division is the most useful takeaway for prospective viewers: the film exists, and its team, runtime, synopsis, Spanish distributor and out-of-competition participation are confirmed, but these pages still carry no official commercial date. Later announcements may change that picture. Check the festival’s official *Heart of the Beast* page and Paramount’s channels before making plans about when or where to watch it.

Festival address and arrival reference

The San Sebastián Film Festival gives its administrative address as Tabakalera, Plaza de las Cigarreras, 1, second floor, 20012 Donostia–San Sebastián, Spain. The September 21 agenda, meanwhile, uses the María Cristina Hotel as the location for Ayer’s recorded arrival. The venues serve different purposes and should not automatically be treated as screening or box-office addresses. Programs and conditions may change, so consult the festival’s official link.