Shooting Stars has found an impressive amount of success, as it has officially become the Peacock release with the highest viewership numbers during its first four weeks in the platform’s history. According to Deadline, Chris Robinson’s biopic about the journey LeBron James went through before becoming one of the best basketball players in the history of the sport generated more interest from the general audience than the other eight original movies the platform has available on its catalog. Besides his accomplishments on the court, it looks like James once again has found success in the movie industry.
Based on the book by James himself and Buzz Bissinger, the feature follows the legendary athlete when he was still a young high school player with a lot of dreams. Fortunately, LeBron wasn’t alone, and he could always count on his friends to support him both inside the court and outside of it. Mookie Cook was sin charge of portraying the younger version of James. Caleb McLaughlin starred as Dru Joyce III, a former professional player who currently spends his time as a basketball coach.
When the first trailer for the film was released, it was clear that Peacock wanted to send a profound message about effort, discipline and perseverance through LeBron James’ story. Shooting Stars also featured performances from Algee Smith and Dermont Mulroney, in a confident movie about a boy who wasn’t going to let anything stop him from achieving his dreams. It remains to be seen if any upcoming original film from the platform will be able to break the current record, but if anything can be said about LeBron James and setting the bar for an accomplishment, future releases might not be so lucky.
LeBron James’ Fantastical Adventure
Before his story was highlighted in a biographical feature, LeBron James entered a world beyond his imagination in Space Jam: A New Legacy. Accompanied by the Looney Tunes, the basketball icon had to travel through a digital world while trying to heal the relationship between him and a fictionalized version of his son played by Cedric Joe. The pair eventually has to go up against an algorithm played by Don Cheadle, who wanted to take pop culture into a literal hell by using artificial intelligence to determine the future of Warner Bros.’ content output. Luckily, that only happens in movies.