In historic Harlem, New York at the legendary Apollo Theater, Lionsgate hosted the star-studded U.S. premiere for The Blackening with the Tribeca Film Festival, in association with Tribeca’s Expressions of Black Freedom Program, and in commemoration of Juneteenth. The event took place on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023 at 7:30 PM.

Stars of the horror comedy Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Dewayne Perkins, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Wells, Jay Pharoah, and Yvonne Orji attended alongside the filmmakers Tim Story, Tracy Oliver, E. Brian Dobbins, Marcei A. Brown and Jason Clark.

Following the premiere screening, the cast and filmmakers took the stage for a Q&A conversation hosted by actress and entrepreneur Keke Palmer.

The Blackening centers around a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize this ain’t no motherf****** game. Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along, Think Like A Man, Barbershop) and screenplay and screen story by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem) & Dewayne Perkins (The Amber Ruffin Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), The Blackening skewers genre tropes and poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first?