Cartoon Saloon's Wolfwalkers Gets October UK and Irish Cinema Release

Tomm Moore's much-anticipated Wolfwalkers finally received its world premiere as part of Toronto International Film Festival. Its online screening saw it debut in a way nobody could have forseen at the start of the year, but at least it went off without a hitch. We're still waiting for a date when the film will be available on Apple TV+, but we do now know when the film will be arriving in cinemas in the film's native Ireland and the UK.

When it was revealed the film had been acquired by Apple, some Cartoon Saloon fans were concerned that they would not get the chance to see the film in cinemas as they had been anticipated. However, when Irish distributor Wildcard revealed that they had picked up theatrical rights for the British Isles, it was clear that Apple was taking a different approach from other streamers.

✨Are you ready to awaken your magic?✨

We're very excited to announce the Irish/UK cinema release date for @CartoonSaloon's stunning WOLFWALKERS.

In cinemas 30th Oct with previews on 26th Oct.

Best of luck to the film for its world premiere at @TIFF_NET this weekend! pic.twitter.com/MaKquDiEt2

— Wildcard Distribution (@WildCardDistrib) September 11, 2020

On the day of the TIFF screening, Wildcard announced (via Twitter) that the film would open in cinemas in Ireland and the UK from October 30, with preview screenings October 26.

We don't know just how wide the release will be- Wildcard is a smaller boutique distributor so we would imagine it would be fairly limited. They're definitely smaller than Studio Canal who distributed all of Saloon's films before now (and they didn't play that widely). However, cinemas that have reopened are in dire need of new content, so could that see it play wider than it otherwise might have?

Of course, many people still don't feel comfortable returning to the cinema just yet- quite understandably. Hopefully, they won't have to wait much longer after that for it to hit streaming. UK audiences will get a chance to see it from their homes before that, as it will also have a virtual screening at London Film Festival on October 10.

We've heard rumours of a theatrical release in the United States (and possibly Canada?) but there has been no official announcement yet and we don't tend to report on rumours and speculation. It may be that they are holding back from announcing anything while the situation in the US remains particularly precarious. But it does seem that US fans will get the chance to see it on the big screen, they just might have to wait a bit longer. As soon as anything becomes official though- we'll be sure to let you know.

What we want to know now is whether Apple will allow their films to receive a Blu-Ray/DVD or even digital download release some time down the line? Because we're going to want it sitting next to our other Cartoon Saloon Blu-rays on our shelf.