In the words of the immortal Prince, "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999" because A24's Y2K will be available to watch at home on Christmas Eve. The apocalyptic horror comedy directorial debut of Kyle Mooney has hit digital platforms less than two weeks after it first took over theaters, ensuring it'll be ready to watch from anywhere in time for the New Year. It's not exactly coming off the hottest box office performance, grossing only $2.1 million in its first weekend and shaping up to be a rare misfire for the indie giant, but it still brings a lot to the table with a cast led by Rachel Zegler and a literally killer story set at the turn of the century.
The story behind Y2K is very simple - two high school outcasts crash the biggest New Year's Eve party in town in 1999 in hopes of having fun and helping one of them, Eli (Jaeden Martell), finally confess his feelings to his crush. However, their night descends into complete chaos when they find out that Y2K is real. They and their fellow partygoers are forced to fight for their lives against the mechanical menace, with 90s references aplenty from dial-up to Tomagotchis. While the real-life fears over Y2K were based on the idea that technology would begin to fail with the rollover to the new millennium, Mooney's film imagines a reality where all the machines violently revolt against their creators when the clock hits midnight.
Adding to the call sheet is a cast mixing young stars and 90s icons, including Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst as himself. Julian Dennison rounds out the starring trio as Eli's friend and wingman Danny, with the rest of the group featuring Eduardo Franco, Daniel Zoghadri, Lachlan Watson, Alicia Silverstone, The Kid Laroi, and Mooney himself. Superbad's Jonah Hill also leads a high-profile team of producers with Matt Dines, Allison Goodwin, Cooper Wehde, Evan Winter, and The Bear creator Christopher Storer. With all that talent, the film earned a strong reception at SXSW earlier this year, though reviews overall have been mixed. Collider's Ross Bonaim e said in his 6/10 review, "Even though Y2K is a brilliant idea that doesn’t explore its potential as well as it should, it’s still charming and playful in a way that makes it an amusing watch.
What's Next for Zegler After 'Y2K'?
Zegler has been on fire to start her young career, going from Steven Spielberg's West Side Story to Shazam! Fury of the Gods and the prequel novel adaptation The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes last year. The future remains bright for her heading into 2025, as she's set to join the Disney live-action remake universe with Snow White. She'll take on the titular role opposite Gal Gadot's Evil Queen in what's been billed as a reimagining of the classic tale. Taking up directorial duties will be Mark Webb with Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson penning the screenplay.
Y2K will be available on digital platforms including Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, and more on December 24, 2024.
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Y2K
Two high school nobodies make the decision to crash the last major celebration before the new millennium on New Year's Eve 1999. The night becomes even crazier than they could have ever dreamed when the clock strikes midnight.
Release Date March 9, 2024
Runtime 93 Minutes
Main Genre Comedy
English (US) ·