Acclaimed Searchlight Pictures Film "Rental Family" Arriving on Digital and Physical Platforms in Coming Weeks

The acclaimed Searchlight Pictures film, Rental Family, is set for a home release later this month on both digital platforms and physical media. 

What’s Happening: 

• Journey to Japan and into the heart of human connection with Searchlight Pictures’ Rental Family when the film arrives on digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home January 13, followed by a Blu-ray release February 17th.
• Set in modern-day Tokyo, HIKARI's Rental Family stars Academy Award winning actor Brendan Fraser as a has-been American actor searching for purpose and belonging in a society where he feels increasingly adrift. 
• An unexpected acting call leads him to a “rental family” agency, where he is hired to play stand-in roles for strangers seeking connection. As performance begins to blur with reality, the immersive role-playing awakens his humanity and compassion, drawing him deeply into his clients’ lives and pushing him off-script whenever his empathetic heart takes over. 
• Searchlight’s Rental Family channels the emotional depth of award-winning director, producer, and co-writer HIKARI (Beef, Tokyo Vice, 37 Seconds), who believes cinema “allows us to view others with empathy, creates space for conversation, and see parts of ourselves we did not know existed.”
• You can read what our own Bill Gowsell thought of the film, noting that “the beauty that is found in Hikari’s masterpiece of visual cinema and heartfelt connection is the message that sometimes in helping others, we end up helping ourselves.” Find out more in his review of Rental Family. 

Digital & Blu-ray Bonus Materials

• Featurette: Rental Family Revealed - Go behind the scenes with Brendan Fraser, director HIKARI, and the Japanese cast as they explore friendship, culture, found family, and filming in Japan in this intimate look at the making of Rental Family.
• Deleted/Extended Scenes:
  • Columbus
  • Crying Session
  • Apology
  • Aiko’s First Client
  • Clearbright
  • Tickets
  • Audition
  • Phone Call
  • Final Montage

• It should be noted that the Bonus features may vary by product and retailer.
  

More About Rental Family: 

• Over on YouTube, ABC’s On The Red Carpet has shared a behind the scenes look at the Searchlight Pictures film Rental Family, offering a look behind the camera into the story, performances, and creative process behind the film.
• In the episode, we explore how the film uses Tokyo’s unique urban landscape to reflect isolation and intimacy, while examining themes of found family, grief, and belonging. 
• Director Hikari discusses her personal connection to the story and her commitment to authenticity, both culturally and emotionally, while the cast reflects on building sincere performances rooted in vulnerability.
• The behind the scenes look also highlights the film’s score, which follows Philip’s emotional journey, and the collaborative approach between director, cast, and composers. 
• Find out more with the special On The Red Carpet episode.