Celebrating its 20th anniversary, one of the new millennium’s great cinematic pop star vehicles is driving to theaters. Austin Powers In Goldmember, starring Beyoncé, Crossroads, starring Britney Spears, is returning to screens for a two-night fan event commemorating The Woman In Me, Spears’ upcoming memoir. Presented by Trafalgar Releasing, Sony Music Entertainment, and RCA Records, Crossroads will play in 875 locations across 24 countries.
Seeing Crossroads has been difficult for the last two decades. Aside from its initial DVD release, Spears’ only starring role has been absent from home media. There has never been a Blu-ray release of Crossroads, and it’s unavailable on all major streaming platforms in the U.S. All that’s to say, this might be the only way to see Britney’s karaoke version of “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” as the filmmakers intended for some time.
In addition to being Spears’ first and only starring role in a major motion picture, Crossroads also boasts an early performance from Zoe Saldana, who would become the fourth-highest-grossing actor on Earth. It’s also the first feature-length, theatrically released film written by Shonda Rhimes.
“I am beyond thrilled that Sony Music Entertainment, RCA Records, and Trafalgar Releasing are rereleasing Crossroads in movie theaters,” director Tamra Davis said. “I recently rewatched Crossroads and was so enthralled with the time capsule of nostalgia that this incredible ensemble cast brings to the screen.”
“Britney is absolutely breathtaking to watch, and Shonda is showing us her early expertise in writing complicated female characters. We had the best time in the world making this picture, and the connection the actresses bring to their performances shows in every frame. The music will undoubtedly have audiences dancing and singing along, and I know everyone will have as much fun watching these scenes as we had making them. I’m so grateful that Crossroads will be available so people can see Britney shine again.”
While Crossroads has built up a cult fandom in the last 20 years, it was hardly a beloved curio upon release. Marked by poor reviews and a disappointing box office, Crossroads became a punchline in the vein of Mariah Carrey’s Glitter and Kelly Clarkson’s From Justin To Kelly, which would have a similar problem a year later. But considering America’s Britney Spears’ reclamation project taken up by the Free Britney movement, the media is far kinder to Spears now than it was in the early ‘00s when overt sexism and hostile tabloids drove her into multiple crises and her controversial conservatorship. It’s been 20 years, maybe it’s time to take a second trip to the Crossroads.