Crime 101 director Bart Layton wanted to make the type of movie he felt Hollywood doesn’t release much anymore — at least not for theaters, anyway. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte, the thriller about a jewel thief (Hemsworth) who pulls off a heist on the Los Angeles freeway is being positioned as a big event movie for the Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day weekend timeframe.
Layton, who previously directed American Animals, told Deadline he wanted Crime 101 to be a throwback to the adult drama blockbusters he grew up with. Describing it as the type of movie that he “certainly remembered best as a teenager, or in the ’80s and ’90s. Proper, grown-up movies, films that were thoughtful, but they were also great Saturday-night, popcorn movies,” he added, “I’m trying to think of what the last versions of those films were. Are they mainly on Netflix? I’m not sure. But, don’t you feel like some of those movies don’t exist anymore?”
Can ‘Crime 101’ Bring Adult Audiences Out to the Movies?
Layton’s comments ring at least somewhat true. In 2010, Ben Affleck’s The Town grossed $154 million worldwide; in 2026, Affleck and Matt Damon’s The Rip was released exclusively on Netflix. Romance has also largely become a streaming genre. For every Anyone but You that gets released in theaters, there are movies like The Idea of You and People We Meet on Vacation that are sent straight to streaming.
Even though Crime 101 is based on a book, it doesn’t carry the built-in IP appeal that a comic-book film, a remake, or even a more popular book adaptation does. It’s counting on its stars as much as its premise to sell itself to audiences, much like the star vehicles of the 1980s and ’90s that Layton is calling back to.
Amazon MGM is certainly taking a big swing with Crime 101 by releasing it on Feb. 13, 2026, one day before Valentine’s Day and ahead of the Presidents’ Day opening weekend. It’s being positioned as counterprogramming to Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, another book adaptation that’s pushing its stars (Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi) as a major selling point. Opening that same weekend for family audiences is Sony Pictures Animation’s Goat. Audiences will certainly have their fair share of titles to pick from over the three-day holiday weekend; hopefully, all three of these releases can find an audience.
- Release Date
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February 13, 2026
- Runtime
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140 Minutes
- Director
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Bart Layton