Netflix has been screening The Mosquito Bowl for service members, veterans groups, and college and NFL programs ahead of the film’s global debut on November 25, the company said in an official announcement dated November 12. The historical war drama is based on a true story and on Buzz Bissinger’s book of the same name. It follows four college football stars who enlist in the Marines after Pearl Harbor and play a legendary game before the invasion of Okinawa.
The Lowdown
The screenings are Netflix’s own account of a Veterans Day promotion, not a third-party review of the film. The attendance figures and guest lists come from that announcement. The movie itself has not started streaming yet.
Key Takeaways
- The Mosquito Bowl debuts globally on Netflix on November 25.
- Netflix said more than 1,700 service members at 10 military bases previewed the film. Director, writer, and producer Peter Berg attended screenings at Parris Island and Camp Pendleton, where the film’s four stars joined him.
- On November 10, the company screened the film at the U.S. Navy Memorial Theater in Washington, D.C., for VA policymakers and veterans groups. Berg and Bissinger then discussed the film with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
- Netflix also listed a Purdue University screening, a National WWII Museum event in New Orleans, and previews for the Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Brown, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
- The four stars named in the announcement are Nicholas Galitzine, Tom Francis, Bill Skarsgård, and Ray Nicholson.
The Full Story
Veterans Day Screenings
Netflix dated the announcement November 12 and framed the tour as a Veterans Day effort. The Washington screening, it said, was held on November 10, the Marine Corps’ 251st birthday and the evening before Veterans Day. Guests included policymakers at the Department of Veterans Affairs and groups such as Blue Star Families, HillVets, the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, Student Veterans of America, U.S. Vets, and Veterans in Media & Entertainment. Earlier that day, Berg and Bissinger visited Marine Barracks Washington.
“I hope that it can be a little bit of a message to anyone who sees this film that we have a responsibility to take care of the men and women who are willing to serve for this country, who are willing to fight for this country,” Berg said, according to Netflix.
The company also hosted a reception and screening at Purdue University, which one of the film’s main characters, Tony Butkovich, attended, in partnership with the school’s Veteran and Military Success Center. Guests included members of that center and Purdue ROTC students, Netflix said.
Bases, the Cast, and Football Programs
The 10-base list in the announcement includes Camp Pendleton and Parris Island, where Berg attended, as well as sites in Arizona, Hawaii, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and elsewhere in California. At Camp Pendleton, Netflix said, the four stars met with service members and toured the facilities. Berg, Bissinger, and the cast also toured the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Louisiana and later screened the film at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, with a Q&A moderated by the museum’s Dr. John Curatola.
On the football side, Netflix said it screened the movie for the Colts, Raiders, and 49ers, and for programs at Brown, Michigan, and Wisconsin. For three of those schools, the company noted, the real-life soldiers depicted in the film were former students: John McLaughry at Brown, and Dave Schreiner and Bob Bauman at Wisconsin. Netflix also said the U.S. Marines Silent Drill Platoon appeared at the film’s world premiere at AFI Fest in Los Angeles.
PCP Take
A studio-run screening tour is still useful reporting when the numbers and the guest list come from the company itself, and when the film has not opened to reviews yet. The clean fact here is the date: November 25, worldwide, on Netflix. If you want more movie coverage while you wait, start in our Movies & Hollywood section.
Latest News
Related
Join the Conversation
Coming soon.
More Context
Photo credits
1. Featured image: Photo by Eric Ray Davidson / Netflix, from the official Netflix announcement of military and football-program screenings, November 2026. Service members at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton attend an early screening of The Mosquito Bowl.
