Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest limited theaters before Apple TV+

Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest arrives in limited theaters this week before it migrates to Apple TV, marking another high-profile collaboration with Denzel Washington and a contemporary reimagining of Kurosawa’s High and Low set against the streets of New York. The film opens in roughly 300 cinemas for a limited run, with an Apple TV+ streaming debut scheduled for September 5, 2025, following its festival premiere and theatrical bow. The project, a merger of Apple Original Films and A24, keeps faith with Lee’s characteristic blend of noir tension, social commentary and stylized spectacle.

The movie retools Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller for a modern urban milieu, transplanting the hostage crisis and ransom plot into the music industry’s high-stakes world. Washington plays David King, a powerful music mogul whose carefully built empire is suddenly endangered when his family’s safety collides with a brutal moral choice. The cast also features Jeffrey Wright and Ilfenesh Hadera, with rapper AAP Rocky as the antagonist in a pivotal role that ignites a climactic confrontation. Additional cast members include Ice Spice and veteran actors who help anchor the film’s ambitious tonal...