Andrew Garfield will have two very different theatrical releases in India this September, with The Magic Faraway Tree arriving on September 4 and Paul Greengrass’ The Uprising following a week later on September 11. The unusual back-to-back positioning puts the actor at the centre of two high profile films aimed at very different audiences.
The Magic Faraway Tree, directed by Ben Gregor and adapted from Enid Blyton’s popular children’s property, features Garfield and Claire Foy as parents whose family discovers the magical Faraway Tree. Nicola Coughlan plays Silky, while the ensemble also includes Rebecca Ferguson, Nonso Anozie and Jennifer Saunders. The film has already opened in the UK and is now arriving in India on September 4.
A week later comes the much more adult The Uprising, Greengrass’ historical action drama set during the English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Garfield plays a farmer who rises to lead the rebellion against King Richard II, with Jamie Bell, Thomasin McKenzie, Tom Hollander, Stephen Dillane and Cosmo Jarvis among the supporting cast. The film has been officially dated for September 11 in India.
The interesting factor is not simply Garfield appearing in two films, but the contrast between the two. One is a family fantasy based on a well known literary property, while the other is a gritty historical action film from a filmmaker known for grounded, high intensity storytelling.
Back-to-back releases of this scale around the same actor are relatively uncommon, making September an interesting month to track Garfield’s visibility and whether the very different films can draw distinct audiences without one cannibalising attention from the other.
