The Alto Knights' VOD release date has now been revealed following the film flopping in theaters. Directed by Barry Levinson, the crime drama marks one of 2025’s biggest box office disasters. De Niro plays dual roles in the film, crime bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, with theAlto Knightsstorychronicling the increasing friction between the pair over decades as a friendship turns violent. Reviews for the movie were generally negative from critics and the film grossed only $9 million at the box office following its theatrical release in March.
Warner Bros. now confirms thatThe Alto Knightswill release on VOD on Friday, April 11. This will be followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on May 27. The digital edition of the film is confirmed to include one featurette called “One Legend, Two Mobsters.” The announcement does not mention a 4K UHD release, suggesting the movie may not be available on this platform.
What This Means For The Alto Knights
Can The Film Redeem Itself?
It’s possible thatThe Alto Knightswill be more successful on VOD than it has been in theaters. De Niro, after all, remains one of Hollywood’s most well-known movie stars, and he is sure to appeal to an older demographic of viewers who may not be willing to make the trip to theaters. That being said,there’s probably no scenario whereThe Alto Knightsends up being anything other than a significant failurefor Warner Bros.
Made on an estimated budget of $45 million,The Alto Knightsmay have been looking at a break-even point of $90 million or more, a goal it clearly fell very far short of. In addition to losing WB tens of millions, the film also wasn’t well-received. OnRotten Tomatoes, it has a lackluster critics' score of 39% and a Popcornmeter score of 71%.The Alto Knightsreviews took issue with the film’s predictability, pacing problems, and its reliance on classic mob movie tropes and clichés established decades ago in genre-defining movies likeGoodfellas(1990), which De Niro also stars in.
Our Take On The Alto Knight’s VOD Release
The Gangster Movie Didn’t Make Sense For Theaters
ThoughThe Alto Knightsfeatures a few notable actors, including the on-the-rise Cosmo Jarvis, who recently made a splash as part of thecast of FX’sShōgun, the film doesn’t really make sense in today’s theatrical landscape. Even if reviews had been glowing,a mob movie starring an actor in his early 80s was never going to have mass appeal. Engaging younger viewers can be a key factor in achieving box office success these days, but there’s nothing inThe Alto Knightsthat does this.
What’s more,The Irishman(2019), which De Niro also stars in, already covered a lot of the ground thatThe Alto Knightstries to cover– and arguably in a much more effective way – so it’s curious why De Niro wanted to retread that ground. From many perspectives, then,The Alto Knightsis a bit of a question mark, and it’s not surprising that it didn’t succeed in theaters. The VOD audience, however, can be very different, and it’s entirely possible that the De Niro film will discover its fan-base on home viewing platforms.
