by Alex Billington
September 22, 2026
Source: YouTube

"People cannot take advantage of us." Neon has unveiled the full official trailer for the film Paper Tiger, the newest NYC film created and written and directed by filmmaker James Gray (We Own the Night, Ad Astra, Armageddon Time). This thriller originally premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival playing in the Main Competition, though reviews were quite mixed (here's mine). The story follows two brothers who pursue a lucrative business opportunity in 1980s Queens (involving the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn), only to find themselves caught up in a dangerous scheme involving the Russian mafia, which ends up terrorizing their suburban family and puts their own sibling bond to the test. Adam Driver stars as Gary Pearl, the older brother and a former cop, now a fixer around the city. Miles Teller co-stars as Irwin, his younger brother. His wife Hester is played by Scarlett Johansson, with Gavin Goudey & Roman Engel as their sons. Also featuring Victor Ptak as Simeon Bogoyavich, an intimidating Russian mob boss who's involved. Neon is dropping this into theaters in November with a homecoming premiere at NYFF. Good film! Not one of the best films of the year, but a solid thriller with a superb Adam Driver performance that's worth a look.

Here's the main official trailer (+ poster) for James Gray's NYC film Paper Tiger, from Neon's YouTube:

You can rewatch the teaser trailer for James Gray's Paper Tiger thriller right here for the first look again.

"Let there be wealth without tears; enough for the wise man who will ask no further." –Aeschylus (from Agamemnon). In James Gray’s deeply felt and intense drama, two brothers (Adam Driver & Miles Teller) become entangled in a business scheme that turns out to be too good to be true. As they try to navigate their way through the dangerous world of the Russian mafia, family bonds begin to fray with life-altering consequences. Paper Tiger is both written and directed by acclaimed American filmmaker James Gray, director of the films Little Odessa, The Yards, We Own the Night, Two Lovers, The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra, and Armageddon Time previously. Produced by Rodrigo Teixeira, Anthony Katagas, Raffaella Leone, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, Gary Farkas, Marco Perego, Carlo Salem, Andrea Bucko. This initially premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year (read our review). Neon will release James Gray's Paper Tiger film in select US theaters starting November 13th, 2026 this fall. Looks good?

Read more posts in: Indies, To Watch, Trailer