Here's the detail that stopped me. On Christmas Eve 1944, two regiments of U.S. Marines played a football game on Guadalcanal, on a patch of dirt and crushed coral, a very long way from any stadium. Nobody scored. It ended 0-0. And of the 65 men who played, 15 would be killed within months in the Battle of Okinawa.
That's the true story behind The Mosquito Bowl, the Peter Berg film Netflix will open in select theaters on Oct. 30 and put on streaming on Nov. 25. The full trailer arrived Oct. 12, and Comic Basics reports that early reaction has been enthusiastic. But what interests me more than the trailer is the history under it, because this is a story that doesn't need any dramatic improvement.
So I wrote the guide I would have wanted: is it real, who actually played in that game, which of the four men in the film made it home, and whether you should buy a ticket or wait for Netflix. You'll also get my take, and it's a hopeful one. I think this is a case where the true story deserves a little more of your attention than the marketing does.
One note before we start. This is not a review. As of Oct. 13 I haven't found a published review, and the film's world premiere is scheduled for Oct. 22 at AFI Fest. What I say about the film comes from Netflix and the trailer coverage. What I say about the history comes from reviews of the book and from biographies of the men themselves, all linked at the bottom.
What to Know
- The game was real. On Dec. 24, 1944, the 4th and 29th Marine Regiments played on Guadalcanal and it ended 0-0. Fifteen of the 65 players died at Okinawa, according to reviews and the publisher of Buzz Bissinger's book.
- Dates to know: world premiere at AFI Fest on Oct. 22, select theaters (including AMC) on Oct. 30, Netflix on Nov. 25. The film is rated R and runs 2 hours 7 minutes.
- Of the four men the film follows, three died on Okinawa: Tony Butkovich on April 18, Bob Baumann on June 6 and Dave Schreiner on June 21, 1945. John McLaughry survived the war.
- My math: 115 to 179 days separated the kickoff from those three deaths, and the gap between the theatrical release and Netflix is 26 days.
Is The Mosquito Bowl a true story? Yes, and the real game is stranger than the pitch
Yes. According to Netflix, the film is adapted from Buzz Bissinger's 2022 nonfiction book The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. The game at the center of it was played on Dec. 24, 1944, on Guadalcanal between the 4th and 29th Marine Regiments of the 6th Marine Division, and many of the men on both sides had played college football, as Wikipedia's summary of the history puts it.
Here are the five facts about the real game that I think matter most.
- It started as barracks trash talk. Publishers Weekly describes months of bragging between former college players in the two regiments, and the book frames it as a fight over which outfit would beat the other.
- The field was a parade ground of dirt and coral. The same review says the players took the field in T-shirts and work pants.
- It turned into a brawl. Publishers Weekly says the hard-fought game devolved into a bloody scrap among the dirt and shards of coral.
- It ended 0-0. Wikipedia and a Bookreporter summary of the book both say the game finished scoreless, and the Bookreporter reviewer puts the crowd at about 1,500 fellow Marines.
- The talent pool was unusual. The publisher's description says the rosters included former All-Americans, captains from Wisconsin, Brown and Notre Dame, and nearly 20 men who were drafted by or went on to play in the NFL.
A quick note on counting. You'll see both 64 and 65 players in descriptions of the book, sometimes in the same publisher's materials. I'm using 65 because that's the figure in the book's reviews and in the trailer coverage. The 15 killed and about 20 wounded come from Publishers Weekly and Bookreporter.
Here's my take, and it's the reason I think the story works. A scoreless tie is the most honest ending a football game can have. Nobody won, so the scoreboard says nothing at all about what that afternoon meant, and that's the part you carry out of it. If you've ever played a game for the plain joy of it, you already understand why those men did.
Who are the four Marines in The Mosquito Bowl, and which ones survived?
Netflix says the film follows four players: John McLaughry, Bob Bauman, Tony Butkovich and David Schreiner. I matched each one to his actor and checked the historical record. If you'd rather go in without knowing who makes it home, skip the last column.
| Real Marine | Played by | School | Age on game day | What the record says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John McLaughry | Played byNicholas Galitzine | SchoolBrown | Age on game day27 | What the record saysSurvived the war. Later coached at Union, Amherst and Brown. Died Nov. 28, 2007, at 90. |
| Tony Butkovich | Played byRay Nicholson | SchoolPurdue | Age on game day23 | What the record saysLed the nation in rushing in 1943. Killed by a sniper on Okinawa on April 18, 1945. |
| Bob Baumann | Played byBill Skarsgård | SchoolWisconsin | Age on game dayNot listed in my sources | What the record saysTackle on Wisconsin's 1942 team. Killed in action on Okinawa on June 6, 1945. |
| Dave Schreiner | Played byTom Francis | SchoolWisconsin | Age on game day23 | What the record saysTwo-time All-American end. Wounded by a grenade on June 20 and died June 21, 1945. |
A quick note on spelling. Netflix writes Bauman, while Purdue's university stories, Terry Frei's research and Wikipedia write Baumann. I use Baumann for the historical man and Bauman only when I'm describing the film's billing.
Two details surprised me. First, McLaughry was 27 on game day, four years older than Butkovich and Schreiner, so the picture of a roster of college kids only fits part of the room. Second, Frei's research places Schreiner and Baumann in the 4th Regiment's Company A, while a Purdue-focused profile quoting Gold and Black Illustrated has Butkovich in the 29th Regiment's backfield. That means the film's two men from the 4th and the man from the 29th stood on opposite sides of the ball on Christmas Eve, and a few months later they were in the same battle.
Schreiner's record is worth a line of its own. He was the Big Ten's most valuable player in 1942 and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955, according to Wikipedia. Butkovich, per Comic Basics, was a first-round NFL pick who chose the Marines instead. These weren't men with nothing to lose, and I think that's the whole point of the story.
From kickoff to Okinawa: I counted the days
I wanted to see how fast it all happened, so I counted from the Dec. 24, 1944 game to the key dates on Okinawa. The landing date and the end of the battle come from published accounts of the campaign, and the rest are the dates above.
The battle itself ended on June 22, 1945, which is 180 days after the game. Roughly six months, from a Christmas Eve everyone was still talking about to the end of the fighting. All day counts here are my own arithmetic from the published dates.
I keep turning that number over. Half a year is not a long time. It's a college semester and a summer, and it's the distance between a game these men would have told stories about forever and the last chapter of their lives. That's why I think the movie's title does more work than it seems to. It sounds like a sports movie, and the story is about how short the road was from there.
Why is a Netflix movie opening in AMC theaters? The 26-day window
Netflix has set an Oct. 30 release in select AMC theaters and additional locations across the country, followed by streaming on Nov. 25, according to Dark Horizons and Netflix's own page. World of Reel reports that the theatrical run is for Oscar eligibility and calls it a rare partnership between AMC and Netflix, which have had a contentious relationship in recent years. Comic Basics adds that it's the first Netflix-AMC partnership since KPop Demon Hunters.
| Date | What happens | Days from today (Oct. 13) |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct. 22 | What happensWorld premiere at AFI Fest | Days from today9 |
| Fri, Oct. 30 | What happensSelect AMC theaters and other U.S. locations | Days from today17 |
| Wed, Nov. 25 | What happensStreaming on Netflix | Days from today43 |
Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 25 there are 26 days. Netflix's Oct. 12 post on X tells fans to get tickets now. And because Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26, the streaming date lands the day before the holiday.
I think the theatrical window is the right call, and not only for awards. The cast describes a physically immersive production. Galitzine told Netflix that the team did almost everything themselves with limited stunt doubles, with explosives going off a couple of feet from their faces. A film made that way is aimed at a big dark room with big speakers, and there's something fitting about watching a story of men who played for each other alongside a roomful of strangers.
Should you see The Mosquito Bowl in theaters or wait for Netflix? My viewer guide
This is the part I'd want if I were deciding. My recommendation is about format, not quality, because the film hasn't been reviewed. It's my read on who gets the most out of each option.
| If you are... | My pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A war-movie fan near an AMC | My pickTheater, Oct. 30 | WhyA war picture shot with real fire and explosions, according to its star, is the kind of film that gains the most from big sound and a dark room. |
| A football fan who wants the history | My pickEither one | WhyThe story is about the men more than the scoreboard, so you lose little by waiting for Netflix. |
| Someone far from a participating theater | My pickNetflix, Nov. 25 | WhyNetflix says "select" theaters, so a long drive may not be worth it. The streaming date is only 26 days after the theatrical release. |
| A parent thinking about teens | My pickPreview it first | WhyThe film is rated R, which means under-17 viewers need an adult with them in theaters. I haven't seen the rating reasons, so check them before you decide. |
Should you read Bissinger's book before you see the movie?
The book is 480 pages in hardcover, according to Publishers Weekly. That review also notes that the football action is brief and that the book spends most of its length on the men's lives and on combat. Kirkus says the final third gives a capable account of the Okinawa battle.
My advice, if you're on the fence: see the film first. Once you've put faces to Butkovich, Baumann, Schreiner and McLaughry, the book gives you everything a 2-hour-7-minute runtime can't hold, including the other 61 players. Reading first has its own appeal, but you'll know how everyone's story ends, which changes how you watch. Both orders work, and I wouldn't let it stop you from going.
It's also worth knowing that the book and film are a reunion of sorts. Bissinger wrote Friday Night Lights, and Berg directed the 2004 film adaptation and later developed the TV series, per Netflix. Berg's last feature film was Spenser Confidential in 2020, according to Comic Basics, and he has made Netflix series like Painkiller and American Primeval since.
Five questions I'd carry into the theater
Since I can't tell you whether the film is good, here's something more useful: five things to watch for that come straight from the history above. They work whether you see it Oct. 30 or Nov. 25.
- What does it do with the 0-0 ending? The real game had no winner, and a sports movie has to decide how to treat that.
- Is there room for the other 61 players? Four men carry the film, but 65 played, and 15 were killed.
- How does it treat the two sides? The real men weren't all on one team, so see whether the rivalry feels like a rivalry.
- How much of the 2 hours 7 minutes is football? The title promises a game, but the book's weight is the war. Watching where the film puts its time tells you what it thinks the story is.
- Do the men feel like people or symbols? Berg told Netflix this is a reality-based film that honors the Marines who died. The best test of that is whether you remember them as individuals afterward.
The Mosquito Bowl questions people keep searching
Is The Mosquito Bowl based on a true story?
Yes. It's adapted from Buzz Bissinger's 2022 nonfiction book about a real football game played by Marines on Guadalcanal on Dec. 24, 1944, according to Netflix and Wikipedia.
Who won the real Mosquito Bowl?
Nobody. The game between the 4th and 29th Marine Regiments ended 0-0, according to Wikipedia and Bookreporter.
How many Mosquito Bowl players died at Okinawa?
Fifteen of the 65 players were killed, and about 20 more were wounded, according to Publishers Weekly and Bookreporter.
When does The Mosquito Bowl come out?
It has its world premiere at AFI Fest on Oct. 22, opens in select theaters (including AMC) on Oct. 30 and streams on Netflix on Nov. 25, according to Netflix and Comic Basics.
Who is in the cast of The Mosquito Bowl?
Nicholas Galitzine plays John McLaughry, Bill Skarsgård plays Bob Bauman, Ray Nicholson plays Tony Butkovich and Tom Francis plays Dave Schreiner. Comic Basics also lists Brent Comer, Dominic Bogart and Pat McAfee, with Berg appearing as General Buckner. It's Francis's first film, according to Netflix.
How long is The Mosquito Bowl and what is it rated?
It runs 2 hours 7 minutes and is rated R, according to Netflix's listing.
Where was The Mosquito Bowl filmed?
In Australia, including locations in Queensland and northern New South Wales, according to Netflix.
Who directed The Mosquito Bowl?
Peter Berg directed it and co-wrote the screenplay with Mark L. Smith, according to Comic Basics. Berg also produced with Brian Grazer and Alex Gayner.
Is it Bauman or Baumann?
Netflix uses Bauman. Wikipedia, Purdue's university stories and Terry Frei's research use Baumann for the historical Wisconsin tackle.
Is The Mosquito Bowl in the Oscar race?
Reports describe the theatrical run as aimed at award eligibility, but eligibility isn't a nomination. Whether it becomes a contender depends on how people respond once they see it.
Is The Mosquito Bowl worth watching?
I can't answer that yet, because it hasn't been reviewed. What I can say is that the true story behind it is worth your time, and the viewer guide above can help you pick a format.
