NEON has announced a genuinely unhinged promotional stunt for Alex Ullom’s debut feature IT ENDS: The Endless Screening, a 36-hour theatrical endurance event launching in New York City ahead of the film’s August 21 theatrical opening. The marathon runs from 7:00 p.m. ET on August 21 through 7:00 a.m. ET on August 23 at Metro Private Cinema, 131 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10011.
The event is built around four-person teams competing in a “Last Person Standing” challenge. Every group member earns $0.25 for each minute they remain inside the theater, up to $540 per person, with a $500 bonus for any group that makes it through all 36 hours. Each participant also receives a $250 concession credit. Bonus surprises — details undisclosed — are promised throughout.
IT ENDS follows a group of recent college graduates who head out on a late-night drive for food, hoping to squeeze in one final hang before their lives diverge. They accidentally turn onto a road that doesn’t end — a two-lane stretch of nightmarish infinite highway surrounded by cosmic horrors beyond their comprehension. Trapped inside a Jeep Cherokee with the miles stretching on forever, the group has to decide: accept their new existence or fight to escape it.
Ullom directs from his own screenplay. The film premiered at SXSW in 2025 and stars Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole. It is produced by Carrie Carusone and Evan Barber.
IT ENDS opens in New York and Los Angeles on August 21, followed by a national theatrical release on August 28. Audiences in Vancouver can catch it early with a sneak screening on Sunday, August 16 at The Park Theatre Vancouver, with Ullom and Backrooms filmmaker Kane Parsons on hand for a Q&A. NEON also welcomes independent theaters nationwide to partner for their own Endless Screening events.
Entries to the NYC marathon contest must be submitted via Instagram by 11:59 p.m. PT on August 17.
