Regal will screen “Heated Rivalry” Episodes 5 and 6 in 4DX starting Nov. 16, putting the hockey romance’s last two Season 1 episodes in 59 motion-seat auditoriums across the U.S., Variety reported Nov. 9.
“Fans made it loud and clear that they wanted more ‘Heated Rivalry’ on the big screen, so we’re turning up the heat,” Brooks LeBoeuf, Regal’s senior vice president of U.S. content, said in a statement reported by Variety.
So yes: “I’ll Believe in Anything” and “The Cottage,” back to back, in seats that move. “Episodes five and six bring years of tension between Shane and Ilya to a boiling point,” LeBoeuf said, “and 4DX takes it all to another level.”
He said the format is “giving fans a chance to feel every hit on the ice.”
What the seats do during the cottage scenes, Regal didn’t say.
Where to See ‘Heated Rivalry’ 4DX Screenings at Regal
According to Variety, the paired 4DX screening will play at all 59 Regal 4DX auditoriums, plus “other participating locations.”
“You may know these episodes by heart, but you’ve never experienced them like this,” LeBoeuf said.
Neither Variety nor ComingSoon, which also reported the plan, listed a 4DX ticket price or an end date for the 4DX run. The standard format doesn’t change, and Regal’s three $9.99 double features keep going through Nov. 30.
“Rookies” and “Olympians” come first. Then it’s “Hunter” and “Rose,” and then Episodes 5 and 6 again for anyone who skips the moving chairs. TheWrap pointed readers to regmovies.com for tickets.
Canadian fans get one day. Cineplex said the episodes “will also be available in 4DX for one day only at select locations on Nov. 16,” CBC News reported.
It wouldn’t share Canadian box office numbers with CBC, but a representative said “audience interest has been strong.”
Gayety’s November movie and TV guide has the rest of the month’s queer releases.
How the ‘Heated Rivalry’ Theatrical Run Reached $1.4 Million
Regal and Sphere Abacus, the Bell Media company that sells the series internationally, announced the run Oct. 22. All six episodes would play Nov. 6 to Nov. 30 in North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, TheWrap reported.
“Nearly a year after its premiere, we’re proud to work with our partners to turn a season fans have watched again and again into a true theatrical event,” LeBoeuf said in the announcement, as quoted by TheWrap.
He pitched it as a bridge, too. “It’s a chance to celebrate the story, its creators and its performances before Season 2 arrives in 2027,” he said.
Sphere Abacus executive Hana Palmer went bigger. “‘Heated Rivalry’ is a global phenomenon creating a rush of social media and press activity wherever it lands,” she said, per TheWrap.
Regal treated the presales as a test. “We just wanted to get a pulse on the demand,” LeBoeuf said in Inc.
The pulse was strong. Presales across the U.S. and Canada passed $1 million after one week on sale, Inc. reported Nov. 4, citing Regal.
“It’s been overwhelming, to say the least. We have many sites that have completely sold out,” LeBoeuf said in Inc.
By Nov. 9, the run had brought in what Variety called an “impressive haul” of $1.4 million from 945 theaters, CBC News reported. That’s at $9.99 a ticket, which Variety said sits a little below the average movie price tracked by research firm EntTelligence.
Amy Castillo, vice president of strategy and innovation at Material, said in Inc. that watching something together is “a powerful experience that Gen Z is craving.”
LeBoeuf had his own read on it. “Streaming sometimes creates the fandom, but theatrical always creates the community,” he said, per Inc.
‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2, Season 3 and a Reported Holiday Movie
The six-episode first season premiered Nov. 28, 2025, on Crave in Canada and HBO Max in the U.S., with the finale on Dec. 26.
“I wanted to bring Heated Rivalry to life and share its shameless, funny, epic, sexy, and deeply romantic journey with the world,” creator Jacob Tierney said in Crave’s launch announcement.
Tierney adapted Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” novels, which Gayety has lined up in reading order. Hudson Williams plays Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie plays Ilya Rozanov, two hockey stars with “a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands,” in HBO Max’s description.
Season 2 is “scheduled to premiere in Spring 2027,” according to a Bell Media release from Sept. 3 that added Kevin Zegers, Paul Gross and Milla Jovovich to the cast. Gayety’s Season 2 guide covers the new couples from the books.
Deadline has since reported, citing unnamed sources, that Seasons 2 and 3 are filming now and that a standalone movie will start shooting in December for a December 2027 theatrical release, according to a Nov. 9 CBC News report.
Deadline suggested the film could arrive “as a Christmas special or a holiday-themed episode.” Its sources said Shane and Ilya aren’t expected to appear. A holiday film without the boyfriends would be a bold call.
Crave told CBC News it has no projects to confirm.
