Netflix Sets October Theatrical and November Streaming Release for Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl

Netflix will release Peter Berg’s World War II drama The Mosquito Bowl in select theaters on Oct. 30, 2026, before the film debuts globally on the streaming service on Nov. 25, 2026. The release plan follows the film’s world premiere at the AFI Fest in Hollywood on Oct. 22.

The movie adapts Buzz Bissinger’s 2022 nonfiction book The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. It tells the true story of four college football stars who enlisted in the Marine Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor and later played in a legendary football game on Guadalcanal on Christmas Eve 1944, shortly before the invasion of Okinawa.

Cast and Production

Nicholas Galitzine plays John McLaughry, Bill Skarsgård portrays Bob Bauman, Ray Nicholson is Tony Butkovich, and Tom Francis plays David Schreiner. Berg directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Mark L. Smith. Berg produced alongside Brian Grazer and Alex Gayner.

The project reunites Berg with Bissinger, who wrote the book that became Berg’s 2004 film Friday Night Lights. The two are also cousins. Production on the film began in Queensland, Australia, in August 2025.

Berg on the Film’s Focus

Berg has said the title may mislead audiences into expecting a straightforward football story. ‘No, it’s not; it’s a movie about the cost of war, the human cost of war,’ Berg said in an interview with CBS News.

He described the film as an attempt to show what is asked of young service members. ‘It is a film that I hope asks us all to look at what we ask of our young men and women,’ Berg said.

Berg also spoke about the intensity of the battle sequences. ‘I wanted it to be as hard and as intense as I could possibly make it,’ he said. ‘I wanted it to feel terrifying, because that’s how I believe it was.’

Premiere and Early Reactions

The AFI Fest premiere brought the cast and filmmakers to the TCL Chinese Theatre on Oct. 22. The following day, reviews began to emerge. The Hollywood Reporter called the film ‘technically impressive’ but ‘emotionally hollow,’ while Deadline described it as a ‘powerful and ultimately poignant portrait’ and ‘one of the most effective antiwar films’ its critic had seen.

Other early reactions were more mixed. Some critics praised the technical craft and the intensity of the combat scenes while questioning the balance between the football storyline and the war narrative. The film runs 2 hours and 6 minutes and is rated R.

Promotion with the Marine Corps

On Oct. 20, Berg and the four lead actors visited Camp Pendleton in California to screen the film for Marines and learn about their training. The cast also visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Washington, D.C., and the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. The promotional events highlighted the film’s connection to the real Marines whose story it depicts.

The Mosquito Bowl opens in select theaters on Oct. 30 and becomes available on Netflix on Nov. 25. The film is expected to be a awards contender for Netflix, given its theatrical window and its source material.