Hollywood has produced countless biopics about icons at the height of their fame. Anthony Bourdain’s Tony takes the opposite route. Rather than revisiting the celebrated chef the world came to know, A24 rewinds to the restless young cook who had not yet changed food culture forever. With the film now approaching theaters, audiences are eager to know when that journey begins.

Before Tony revisits the kitchen that shaped Anthony Bourdain, viewers first need to know when they can step inside it.

A24 will first release Tony in select US theaters on August 7, 2026, before expanding nationwide on August 21. International audiences will get an earlier look in several markets, with countries including India receiving the film on August 6, while others, such as New Zealand, will follow on August 20. Directed and co-written by BlackBerry filmmaker Matt Johnson, the biographical drama draws inspiration from a chapter of Anthony Bourdain’s bestselling memoir Kitchen Confidential.

Leading the cast is Dominic Sessa as 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain, portraying the future chef long before television fame transformed him into a global icon. Antonio Banderas stars as the demanding restaurant owner who becomes Tony’s mentor, joined by Emilia Jones, Leo Woodall, Stavros Halkias, Dagmara Domińczyk, Rich Sommer, Michael Jibrin, and Monica Raymund. Together, the ensemble brings to life the formative chapter that forever altered Bourdain’s future.

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Yet Tony is not interested in telling the Anthony Bourdain story audiences already know. It is chasing the one that came before it.

Instead of following Anthony Bourdain at the height of his fame, Tony travels back to the summer that changed everything. Set in 1975, the coming-of-age drama follows a 19-year-old Bourdain as an unexpected job at a chaotic Provincetown restaurant pulls him into the relentless world of professional kitchens. Inspired by Kitchen Confidential, the film explores the experiences that first ignited his passion for food, storytelling, and the life that followed.

But Tony is about more than discovering a love for cooking. Matt Johnson’s film dives into the pressure, excess, friendships, and hard lessons that defined 1970s restaurant culture, offering an unfiltered look at the environment that shaped Bourdain’s worldview. Rather than celebrating the celebrity he became, Tony uncovers the young man who existed long before the world knew his name.

With Tony finally heading to theaters, audiences will soon get to witness the chapter that existed long before Anthony Bourdain became a global icon.

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Are you excited to watch Tony? Let us know in the comments.