Music Box Films Acquires Amy Goodman Documentary 'Steal This Story, Please!'

Music Box Films has acquired North American theatrical and home entertainment rights to "Steal This Story, Please!," the documentary about independent journalist Amy Goodman, and will release the film on all major digital platforms on October 20.

The deal caps a striking self-distributed theatrical run. The documentary, directed by Academy Award nominees Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, opened on a single screen at New York's IFC Center in April, grossing more than $30,000 in its opening weekend. It held over for 12 weeks, expanded to more than 50 markets, and grossed close to $1 million — making it one of the best-performing nonfiction releases of the year.

The film premiered at the 2025 Telluride Film Festival and won audience awards at 11 festivals, including Mill Valley, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and Woodstock.

Music Box will also release the documentary on DVD and Blu-ray, with the physical media date to be announced. Before the digital release, the film will screen online on October 13 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by a live Q&A with Goodman alongside Deal and Lessin, whose previous credits include "Trouble the Water," "Citizen Koch" and "The Janes."

The Chicago-based distributor, which takes over theatrical bookings going forward, framed the film's stakes in a statement. Goodman, it said, "has reported some of the most urgent and underreported stories of our time on her daily global newshour Democracy Now!."

"Drawing on an extraordinary archive, filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin take us behind the scenes with the warm, wisecracking granddaughter of an Orthodox rabbi — raised in a tradition of asking hard questions — as she navigates a media landscape reshaped by technology, corporate consolidation, and political assaults on the press," the statement continued. It added: "Urgent, provocative and unexpectedly funny, 'Steal This Story, Please!' explores what's at stake when journalism is threatened, and why the act of bearing witness has never mattered more."

The film already has a history with the company's namesake venue. "'Steal This Story, Please!' had the highest-grossing week of any documentary in the history of the Music Box Theatre in Chicago," the distributor said. "We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Amy, Carl and Tia, in expanding the audience reach of this powerful documentary."

Deal pointed to the political moment surrounding the film's home release. "We are thrilled that 'Steal This Story, Please!' will be part of the Music Box family of high-quality independent films, and that Amy's story will get to home audiences far and wide at a moment when free expression is in the crosshairs of the President of the United States," he said.

Lessin located Goodman's importance in a longer arc. "Long before attacks on the press became a defining feature of our political life, Amy Goodman understood that democracy depends on independent, uncompromised journalism that doesn't bow to power," she said. "We are excited to join forces with Music Box Films to build on the theatrical success of the film and ensure that it reaches home audiences in the same spirit of editorial freedom and direct engagement that has defined Amy's work, as well as our own."

Michael Tuckman, whose mTuckman Media handled theatrical booking support, argued the run rebuts industry pessimism about documentaries on the big screen. "In a marketplace where industry leaders continually harp on about the limited theatrical prospects for documentaries – especially those of a political nature – the unabashed success of 'Steal This Story, Please!' proves that audiences are still wanting to be moved and entertained," he said. "Grossing close to a million, the release is a testament to Carl and Tia's belief that theaters are still the best place for documentaries to engage and inspire audiences."

The film is executive produced by Jane Fonda, Rosario Dawson, Tom Morello, Sheila Nevins, Julie Cohen, Tony Tabatznik, Bill Haney, Jonathan Logan and Steve Silberstein. Deal and Lessin produce alongside producers Karen Ranucci, Diana Cohn and Caren Spruch. Brian Andreotti negotiated the sale for Music Box Films; Ben Schwartz and Joe Tufano negotiated for Submarine.

With the October 13 live screening and October 20 digital release, Music Box will test whether a documentary that proved audiences still turn out for political nonfiction in theaters can extend that demand into the home market.