Ahead of CinemaCon, Paramount Pictures has picked up all U.S. rights to the Elegance Bratton-directed crime thriller By Any Means, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg. The pic will open on September 4, 2026, Labor Day weekend.

WME Independent and CAA Media Finance handled the sale of the film, while north.five.six is handling international sales.

Set against the backdrop of 1966 Mississippi and loosely based on true events, the manhunt thriller follows a volatile partnership between a hardened mafia hitman and a young Black FBI agent as they are forced into an uneasy alliance to track down those responsible for the killing of civil rights leaders — uncovering a conspiracy that tests the limits of justice, loyalty and survival.

Pic was written by Sascha Penn. Producers are Alex Lebovici (Hammerstone Studios), Chester Algernal Gordon and Bratton (Freedom Principle), Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee (Thunder Road), and Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson (Municipal). 

By Any Means also stars Nicole Beharie, David Strathairn, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas and Ethan Embry.

Said Bratton in a statment, “This is a story about unlikely alliances forged under impossible circumstances — where justice is not clean, and the truth comes at a cost. I wanted to explore what it means to confront violence not just as an act, but as a system — and what it demands of those caught inside it.”

By Any Means will open against Amazon MGM Studios’ How to Rob a Bank. Paramount already had the release date on hold.