Magnolia Pictures and the USO are proud to partner in offering free nationwide screenings this week of Bob Odenkirk’s new action-thriller Normal to honor and thank service members, veterans and first responders.
The screenings will take place May 5, 6 and 7 at participating theaters across the country. The offer is open to service members past and present, first responders, and one guest with no RSVP required, making it simple to participate and feel recognized.
The screenings are scheduled for:
- May 5 at 12 p.m.
- May 6 at 5 p.m.
- May 7 at 2 p.m.
Find your nearest participating theater and showtime at normalthemovie.com/uso to plan your visit and ensure availability.
The screenings followed Odenkirk and Normal writer Derek Kolstad’s visit to Marines and sailors at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on April 24, emphasizing the shared commitment to supporting those who serve.
According to Magnolia, the idea to bring the film to more service members and first responders grew out of that Camp Pendleton visit. The result is a quick-turnaround USO partnership aimed at getting the movie in front of military audiences while it is still fresh in theaters.
Odenkirk Takes on Another Dramatic Role
Normal stars Odenkirk as Sheriff Ulysses, an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who takes a temporary post in the small midwestern town of Normal. For Ulysses, the quiet job is supposed to be a break from personal problems and moral injuries from his past work. That peace does not last long.
After a botched bank robbery rattles the town, Ulysses stumbles into something much bigger than a routine crime call. The town’s calm surface cracks open, revealing a darker secret underneath. In other words, Normal turns out to be anything but normal. The title is doing a little sneaky work there, as you can see from the movie trailer below.
The 2026 movie release brings Odenkirk back into action-movie territory after Nobody, the 2021 film that turned the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul actor into one of Hollywood’s more unexpected action leads.
That movie leaned hard into the pleasure of watching an ordinary-looking man reveal he is far more dangerous than anyone around him realizes. Normal appears to play in a similar sandbox, with Odenkirk again cast as a mild-mannered figure who gets pulled into violence after trouble finds him.
The movie also reunites Odenkirk with Kolstad and Nobody producer Marc Provissiero. The film is directed by Ben Wheatley, whose filmography includes Free Fire, Kill List, and Meg 2: The Trench. Kolstad wrote the screenplay based on a story by Kolstad and Odenkirk.
Provissiero, Odenkirk and Kolstad produce the film in partnership with QWGmire. Executive producers include Molly C. Quinn, Matthew M. Welty, Elan Gale, Josh Adler, Rhonda Baker, Carrie Wilkins, Glenn Feig, Matthew J. Anderson, Jared D. Underwood, Andrew C. Robinson and Ellen Rutter.
For service members, veterans, first responders and their guests, the USO partnership offers a free way to catch the film during its theatrical run, with screenings scheduled just days after the Camp Pendleton event that helped spark the wider rollout.
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