Primetime camera test reveals Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen – Robert Pattinson steps into the role of television host Chris Hansen in a newly released original camera test for Primetime, ahead of the film’s Australian and New Zealand cinema opening on 29 October 2026.
Director Lance Oppenheim and cinematographer David Bolen captured the test, which gives audiences a close look at Pattinson’s transformation before the completed film arrives. It is a more revealing promotional piece than a conventional trailer: the emphasis is on the performance and the character, rather than a montage of the finished story.
For Australian audiences, the footage adds another glimpse of the project after its local release date was confirmed. Primetime takes its inspiration from true events and is set in 2006, when To Catch a Predator host Hansen set out to make television history. The film’s premise puts a familiar television figure at the centre of a cinema story about the making of a media moment.
Watch the Primetime camera test
The newly released video shows Pattinson taking on Hansen’s look and manner in front of the camera. Oppenheim, who directs the film, oversaw the test with Bolen behind the lens.
Cast and Australian release
Pattinson leads a cast that also includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher and Bokeem Woodbine. The distributor has set Primetime for cinemas across Australia and New Zealand from Thursday, 29 October 2026.
The camera test is presented as an early performance study, so it should not be mistaken for an extra scene from the finished film or an announcement of any change to the theatrical date. The new footage does, however, make the film’s central casting choice tangible: Pattinson is playing a recognisable real-life television host rather than a fictional presenter.
TV Central previously covered the Australian release of Primetime. For more information about the film, visit A24’s public film page.
