Mark Wahlberg’s (Very) R-Rated 107-Minute Action Thriller Officially Sets New Release

Mark Wahlberg is no stranger to intense, hard-hitting cinema, but his latest creative choice marked a deliberate return to raw, gritty filmmaking. After anchoring mainstream action hits like The Union and The Family Plan, the veteran star recently shifted gears back into much darker territory. He teamed up with Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for a relentlessly tense cinematic ride that plunged them both into a very R-rated action thriller, and even though the credits have rolled on the 107-minute onslaught, the reign of tension isn’t quite over yet.

By Any Means immediately gripped audiences with its unflinching narrative when it arrived in theaters in September. Directed by Elegance Bratton, the historical crime thriller unfurls against the volatile backdrop of 1960s Mississippi, following a young Black FBI agent forced into an uneasy alliance with a notorious mafia hitman to investigate a wave of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders. While it divided critics during its theatrical run, the gritty thriller is now set to expand its reach to a whole new audience.

Paramount Home Entertainment is giving physical media enthusiasts exactly what they want by locking down a premium disc release for the winter. As reported by Blu-ray.com, the studio has officially slated By Any Means to arrive on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray as a combo pack on Dec. 15, 2026. The upcoming release will allow movie fans to circumvent the compression of digital streaming, serving up the film’s stark 1960s palette with uncompromised clarity and the added visual depth of Dolby Vision.

The packaging for the 4K Blu-ray of By Any Means release leans heavily into the high-contrast aesthetic, utilizing a striking black and yellow color scheme. The cover art features prominent character portraits of Wahlberg (who is barely recognizable in his role) and Abdul-Mateen II side-by-side, capturing the friction between the movie’s lead duo. The artwork is stamped with text that reads: “Based on a True Story,” reminding viewers of the chilling real-life events that inspired the crime narrative.

While Paramount has made no formal announcement regarding special features for the By Any Means 4K Blu-ray as yet, physical media enthusiasts can likely expect the standard studio treatment, which would typically include a director’s audio commentary, deleted or extended scenes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes tracking the challenges of recreating 1960s Mississippi for the big screen.

By Any Means is set to arrive on the physical media market just over three months after the theatrical debut. The movie opened in cinemas with considerable buzz, but it ultimately stalled at the box office and left critics deeply divided, scraping together a 49% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The lukewarm reception was bolstered by chatter surrounding the film’s brutal tone, with critics noting how its “brutal and relentless violence” and “scenes of barbaric torture” pushed the boundaries of a standard studio thriller.

Ultimately, while By Any Means didn’t clear every hurdle with critics or win over the box office, its upcoming home video release offers the perfect opportunity for audiences to re-evaluate it on their own terms and decide which camp they belong to, considering general moviegoers reacted far more favorably to it, propelling it to a strong 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Release Date

September 4, 2026

Runtime

107 Minutes

Director

Elegance Bratton

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