Hail Caesar to open Berlinale

Joel and Ethan Coen return to festival.

by Amber Wilkinson

George Clooney in Hail, Caesar! by Joel and Ethan Coen, which will open the 2016 Berlin Film Festival
George Clooney in Hail, Caesar! by Joel and Ethan Coen, which will open the 2016 Berlin Film Festival Photo: Universal Pictures/Courtesy Berlinale

Joel and Ethan Coen's Hail, Caesar! will open the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on 11 February, 2016.

The film, which stars Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, George Clooney and Channing Tatum, takes place during the heyday of the Hollywood studio system. The comedy, which also stars Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Alden Ehrenreich, follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.

It will be the second time the Coens have opened the Berlinale, after True Grit kicked off the festival in 2011.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick said: “It’s wonderful that Joel and Ethan Coen are once again opening the Berlinale. Their humour, unique characters and fantastic narrative skill are guaranteed to thrill the audience. Hail, Caesar! is the perfect start for the 2016 Berlinale.”

The film will be released by Universal Pictures worldwide and will open in UK cinemas on February 26, 2016.

Scarlett Johansson in Hail Caesar!
Scarlett Johansson in Hail Caesar! Photo: Universal Pictures/Courtesy Berlinale
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