Ten years after it changed cinema, Moonlight is coming back to theaters. A24 has announced a 10th anniversary 4K re-release of Barry Jenkins‘ landmark film, set for this October.
Jenkins and co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney made the announcement via a video posted across A24’s social media channels, with Jenkins also sharing the news at this year’s Telluride Film Festival following a screening of the film.
Jenkins personally oversaw the 4K remaster of Moonlight, and described watching it as something close to starting over. “Watching it reminded me of seeing it for the very first time before any audience got to see it,” he said, calling it a “special treat.” McCraney marked the milestone with characteristic elegance: “10 years ago in October, Moonlight was released — and it will be rereleased to you in its new, exhilarating, wonderful form.”
Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney announce the 10th anniversary 4K remastered re-release of ‘MOONLIGHT,’ in theaters October 2. pic.twitter.com/hENoanEl2Z
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 6, 2026
Released in 2016, Moonlight was adapted from McCraney’s unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, written during his time at Yale. The film follows a young Black man navigating identity and sexuality across three chapters of his life — childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood — set against the backdrop of Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. Its poetic visual style and emotional depth made it an immediate cultural touchstone, and it has since been widely regarded as one of the best films of the 21st century.
At the 2017 Academy Awards, Moonlight won Best Picture in one of the most memorable moments in Oscar history, when a mix-up during the live telecast initially announced the wrong film before the error was corrected on stage. The film also won Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jenkins and McCraney, with additional recognition from the NAACP Image Awards.
The re-release also celebrates Moonlight‘s upcoming inclusion in the Criterion Collection, the prestigious film archive dedicated to preserving, restoring, and distributing significant cinema from around the world. The 4K release will include an exclusive conversation featuring Jenkins, Oscar-nominated composer Nicholas Britell, and Ali.
Moonlight’s decade celebration is the latest 10th anniversary announcement celebrating our Black stories. Issa Rae recently announced a 10th anniversary event for Insecure alongside her castmates and creative collaborators. Ava DuVernay‘s Array is also welcoming audiences to celebrate a decade of Queen Sugar this September. Black storytelling built some of the most enduring work of the last ten years, and the culture is taking the time to honor it.
Moonlight returns to theaters this October.
