Magic Mike's Last Dance - Everything You Need To Know

"Magic" Mike Lane first danced his way onto theater screens back in 2012, and his moves were so — well — magical that they inspired an entire stripping series. Jump forward a few years, and we're three movies deep with "Magic Mike's Last Dance." Originally intended for a streaming release on HBO Max, the threequel managed to gyrate its way into theaters on February 10, 2023 — right in time for Valentine's Day.

Of course, if you haven't seen the film yet, you might have a few questions about what to expect. For example, who joined Channing Tatum on his latest salacious adventure? Who was sitting in the director's chair this time around? And what did critics and audiences think about the erotic rom-com? If you want to know more about this sexy world of six-pack abs and tearaway pants, read on for everything you need to know about "Magic Mike's Last Dance."

"Magic Mike's Last Dance" starts off with everybody's favorite stripper bartending in Florida, trying to make his way through the world, until he meets socialite Maxandra Mendoza. After the two hit it off in the hottest way possible, Max takes him to London, where she wants him to put on a show that will bring his unique dance moves and unbridled passion to the world. Of course, getting a bunch of dancers ready while negotiating his new relationship will prove difficult for Mike, so we'll get plenty of drama along with a heaping helping of sex appeal.

As Channing Tatum teased to The New York Times, his character has a satisfying love story. "We're trying to do a fish-out-of-water story where it's a reverse-role 'Pretty Woman' story that ends up with a lot of dancing in it." There will also, of course, be another incredible lap dance. "I have a pretty crazy dance that opens the movie," Tatum told Entertainment Tonight. "We kick it off on a pretty strong level." You should also expect the film's climactic number to be pretty spectacular. As director Steven Soderbergh told Empire, the final dance sequence is 30 minutes long.

In April 2022, it was reported that "Westworld" star Thandiwe Newton had left "Magic Mike's Last Dance" so that she could deal with "family matters." Production had already begun, and she was quickly replaced with Salma Hayek as Mike's love interest, Max.

As screenwriter Reid Carolin explained to Variety, Hayek's character has her own entertaining arc in "Last Dance." "It's really about a woman stuck at a horrible strip show like a Chippendales and then realizing, 'What the hell am I doing here?'" Carolin told Variety. "And then Magic Mike comes down from the ceiling. She gets to go down the rabbit hole and asks: What do I really want?"

In addition to Hayek and Tatum as co-leads, you can expect to see a few familiar faces, including Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, and Joe Manganiello. Caitlin Gerard also returns as Kim, a woman who remembers Mike from a very entertaining evening. As for the rest of the cast, Gavin Spokes, Vicki Pepperdine, Alan Cox, Christopher Bencomo, Ayub Khan-Din, and Juliette Motamed round things out.

When it comes to directors, the "Magic Mike" franchise has followed the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy model, which went J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, J.J. Abrams. Here, Steven Soderbergh directed the first flick, Gregor Jacobs directed part two, and then Soderbergh returned to the director's seat.

In addition to helming the first and last "Magic Mike" movies, Soderbergh is an incredibly prolific filmmaker and one of the most critically acclaimed directors of the modern era. He gave us the ultimate heist flick with "Ocean's Eleven," helped Julia Roberts earn her Oscar with "Erin Brockovich," kickstarted the '90s indie drama movement with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," and won his own Academy Award for "Traffic."

And that's saying nothing about all his other films, such as "Contagion," "Logan Lucky," "Kimi," "Che," "Unsane," "No Sudden Move," and "The Informant!" Yeah, the man keeps busy, and pretty much everything he spins is gold. As for "Magic Mike's Last Dance," Soderbergh told Collider his new film digs deeper and explores the subject of relationships, with the director explaining, "The third [movie] is the sort of apex of everything that we've been talking about in that area. Not just taking the dancing to another level, but really getting into the relationship aspect that's been an undercurrent in all of the films. Like Mike has a full-on relationship that's at the center of this movie, while all this stuff is going on, and we haven't done that before."

Unfortunately, critics weren't crazy about "Magic Mike's Last Dance." The film currently has a 49% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 198 reviews. As the site's critics consensus reads, "'Magic Mike's Last Dance' is loose and limber enough to entertain, although it's hard to escape the feeling that this franchise has lost a step or two along the way."

As Sarah Wand of Concrete Playground put it, "When there's genuine heat to Magic Mike's Last Dance, it sizzles from that choreography and that core duo [of Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek]. Everything else too often feels like foreplay at its most routine and half-hearted." However, not everyone was so negative about the movie. Our very own Dominic Griffin wrote in his review, "Take away trying to define what a "Magic Mike" film must be, engage with the work on its own merits, and it is something so moving and so exciting in its originality."

Audiences really seemed to enjoy the third installment in Mike's stripping series. Based on 1000+ verified ratings, the film has a 74% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, most likely thanks to the chemistry between Tatum and Hayek and the incredibly choreographed dance moves.

When Jason Kilar was the CEO of WarnerMedia, there was a huge emphasis on releasing Warner Bros. movies on HBO Max. In fact, "Magic Mike's Last Dance" was originally headed for the streamer. However, one massive merger later, and Warner Bros. Discovery was being run by David Zaslav, a man who prioritizes big-screen releases over HBO Max. As a result, "Magic Mike's Last Dance" was redirected for theater screens, where it earned $48 million over the course of its run.

Granted, that's nowhere near as much as the other two "Magic Mike" movies. The first one grossed $171 million, while the sequel earned $124 million. Of course, those movies were released in the "before" times — before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted theater-going and streaming sites absolutely dominated the landscape. So while $48 million isn't a ton, it's probably more than Warner Bros. would've made if they'd just shipped the film off straight to HBO Max.

Would it shock you if we said "Magic Mike's Last Dance" wasn't rated G for general audiences? Would you be surprised to learn this isn't a movie meant for the whole family? Well, guess what — "Last Dance" most assuredly wasn't made for young eyes. The film is indeed rated R for "sexual material and language." After all, the main character is a stripper. The whole thing kicks off with a hot and heavy lap dance. Interestingly, there isn't any nudity here, but there are a ton of dancers on the screen doing their best to entertain.

If you're looking for "Last Dance," you can find the third installment in the "Magic Mike" series on streaming services like Amazon Video, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu, where you can rent it for $19.99. But if you need to go back and revisit all the previous tearaway action, don't worry — we can help.

If you feel like checking out the first "Magic Mike" movie, helmed by Steven Soderbergh and co-starring Matthew McConaughey, you can pay $3.99 to watch it on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu. Or if you'd rather watch one of the best road trip movies and see Joe Manganiello tear it up in a supermarket, you can stream "Magic Mike XXL" on Netflix or rent it for $2.99 on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.