Jenna Ortega and Natalie Portman’s dark crime comedy sets release date in chaotic first trailer
Selling art is one thing. Explaining why there is a dead body in the exhibition is another. Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega face that problem in ‘The Gallerist,’ where a gallery opening becomes a cover-up. Their characters have a show to sell and an accident they would rather nobody investigate.
‘The Gallerist’ opens in US theaters on December 4, 2026, with its first trailer offering a look at Polina and Kiki’s scheme. Roadside Attractions and Vertical are distributing the crime comedy. Portman plays gallery owner Polina Polinski, with Ortega as her assistant, Kiki. The pair’s scheme unfolds during Art Basel Miami, where attracting attention is the goal until the police become part of the audience.
The official synopsis reads: “Set against the glittering excess of Art Basel Miami, The Gallerist follows an ambitious gallery owner (Portman) clinging to the edge of elite society and desperate to prove herself on the heels of a nasty separation, facing mounting financial hardship. What begins as an impromptu act of survival—when she conspires to pass off an accidental corpse as the centerpiece of her debut show—spirals into a sly game of deception, spectacle, and ticking-clock chaos as influencers and police converge. Will she end up famous, a felon, or both?”
The trailer reveals how the exhibition acquires its centerpiece. Zach Galifianakis plays art influencer Dalton Hardberry, whose encounter with a sculpture ends in an accidental impalement. The work, called ‘The Emasculator,’ belongs to artist Stella Burgess, played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Polina and Kiki then attempt to sell the result as art, leaving them to manage visitors who see an installation rather than evidence. The preview also invokes Andy Warhol’s line, “Art is anything you can get away with.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones enters the mix as Marianne Gorman, an art dealer who is also Kiki’s aunt. That pairs her with Ortega again after ‘Wednesday,’ where they play Morticia and Wednesday Addams. Sterling K. Brown plays Polina’s wealthy ex-husband, while Daniel Brühl portrays an aspiring collector. Charli xcx appears as Dalton’s girlfriend, adding another person connected to the man at the center of the cover-up.
Cathy Yan directs from a screenplay she co-wrote with James Pedersen. ‘The Gallerist’ is her first feature since 2020’s ‘Birds of Prey,’ which starred Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January before securing its US distribution deal. Portman also serves as a producer, while Ortega is among the executive producers.
