Better Man: Robbie Williams chimpanzee biopic gets German free-TV premiere on ProSieben

ProSieben broadcast Better Man – Die Robbie Williams Story on German free-to-air television on Sunday, 2 August 2026, giving the 2024 biopic its free-TV premiere in the country. The film portrays the British pop star as a CGI chimpanzee, created using motion capture technology, with Williams himself providing the voiceover commentary in the English-language original. Directed by Michael Gracey, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson, the film traces Williams's life from his rise to fame with Take That between 1990 and 1995 through the solo career he launched in 1996. That career produced his 1997 debut album Life thru a Lens, featuring the single Angels, and eventually a discography of twelve studio albums and sixty-seven singles. The broadcast gives the film a second chance in Germany, where it had performed poorly at the box office. According to reports, some cinema audiences left screenings confused. The film nevertheless received an Oscar nomination, according to reports, and Süddeutsche Zeitung included it among its recommended films for the weekend television programme.

ProSieben brings the Robbie Williams chimpanzee biopic to German free TV

German viewers had their first chance to watch Better Man – Die Robbie Williams Story without a cinema ticket or streaming subscription on Sunday evening, 2 August 2026, when ProSieben aired the film as its German free-TV premiere. The biopic, directed by Michael Gracey and co-written by Gracey with Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson, famously casts its subject not as an actor but as a CGI chimpanzee created with motion capture technology, with Williams himself providing the voiceover commentary in the English-language original.

According to German TV listings coverage, the broadcast began at 20:15, placing it squarely in the heart of Sunday primetime. That is one of the most contested slots in the German television week, and the film faced heavyweight competition. German media reports note that the long-running crime series Tatort and a James Bond film aired in the same slot on rival channels.

The scheduling gave the 2024 film a prominent second outing in Germany after a disappointing run in German cinemas. ProSieben's decision to place it in the Sunday evening flagship slot, rather than a late-night berth, put the unusual biopic in front of the country's largest regular television audience of the week.

The premiere also made the film accessible to viewers who had missed it during its theatrical release, bringing Williams's story — from his Take That years between 1990 and 1995 to his solo breakthrough — to free-to-air screens for the first time.

A pop star played by a CGI chimpanzee: what Better Man is

Better Man – Die Robbie Williams Story is a 2024 film biography of the British pop star, directed by Michael Gracey. Gracey also co-wrote the screenplay with Oliver Cole and Simon Gleeson. According to reports, the film is a musical that traces Williams's childhood and career.

What sets it apart from the standard music biopic is its central conceit: Williams is not played by an actor. Instead, he appears on screen as a chimpanzee, rendered through CGI and created using motion capture technology. The choice applies throughout the film — the ape stands in for Williams at every stage of his life story.

Williams himself is not entirely absent from the production. In the English-language original version, he provides the voiceover commentary, narrating his own life while the digital chimpanzee acts it out.

The result is an unusual hybrid: a conventional rise-and-fall pop biography in structure, but one in which the protagonist is a computer-generated primate. That gamble defined how the film was received and marketed, and it remains the single detail most likely to surprise viewers encountering it for the first time. For audiences used to straightforward star biographies, Better Man asks them to accept its leading man in a form no other film of its kind has attempted.

From Take That to Angels: the career the film retells

Robbie Williams first became famous as a member of Take That, the British boy band he belonged to from 1990 to 1995. Those five years made him a household name, but it was what came after that turned him into one of Britain's biggest solo stars. He left the group and launched his solo career in 1996.

The breakthrough arrived quickly. His debut solo studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997 and included the single Angels, the ballad that would become his signature song. From that point on, Williams built one of the most extensive catalogues in British pop.

The numbers give a sense of the scale. His discography now comprises twelve studio albums, one soundtrack album, one live album, ten compilation albums, one extended play, eleven video albums, sixty-seven singles, six promotional singles and fifty-eight music videos. That body of work, stretching from his mid-1990s reinvention through decades of releases, is the raw material the film draws on.

It is an arc well suited to the biopic format: a teenager made famous inside a manufactured group, a risky departure, and a solo career that outgrew the band he left behind. The film traces that journey from his childhood through his rise, covering the Take That years, the split and the solo stardom that followed.

Williams himself is present in the telling. In the English-language original version, the voiceover commentary is provided by the singer, narrating his own story even as he appears on screen in an unfamiliar form.

1. 1990–1995

   Robbie Williams was a member of Take That, the group through which he became famous.

2. 1996

   Williams began his solo career.

3. 1997

   Williams released his debut solo studio album, Life thru a Lens, which included the single Angels.

4. 2024

   The biographical musical film Better Man – Die Robbie Williams Story, directed by Michael Gracey and portraying Williams as a CGI chimpanzee, was released in cinemas.

5. 2026-08-02

   ProSieben broadcast the film as its German free-TV premiere in Sunday primetime, starting at 20:15, against competition including Tatort and a James Bond film.

Box office flop, baffled audiences — and an Oscar nomination

The film's path to German living rooms ran through a difficult cinema run. Released in cinemas in 2024, Better Man – Die Robbie Williams Story performed poorly at German box offices. No precise figures are available, but the commercial response fell well short of what might have been expected for a film about one of Britain's biggest pop stars.

The theatrical run also produced reports of puzzled viewers. According to German media coverage, some cinema audiences left screenings confused. The reports do not explain what caused that reaction, though the film's central conceit — Williams played by a CGI chimpanzee, created through motion capture — was an unusual choice for a mainstream biopic.

The muted box office stood in contrast to the film's critical recognition. Reports indicate the film received an Oscar nomination. The category of the nomination, and whether the film won, are not known.

That combination — a commercial flop with awards attention — has defined the film's reputation in Germany. Süddeutsche Zeitung included Better Man among its recommended films for the weekend television programme, suggesting the ProSieben broadcast offered the film a fresh audience that cinemas never delivered. For viewers who skipped it in 2024, the free-TV premiere was a chance to judge the chimpanzee experiment for themselves.

Why German television is giving the film a second chance

Better Man's return to prominence in Germany owes everything to scheduling. After a cinema run that left German audiences largely indifferent, ProSieben slotted the film into the most valuable real estate in broadcasting: Sunday primetime on 2 August 2026, with a 20:15 start time, according to reports. That is the slot where German television puts the programmes it believes in — and, reportedly, where Better Man had to compete against established heavyweights including Tatort and a James Bond film.

The contrast is striking. In cinemas, the film failed to find a German audience. On free-to-air television, it was being offered to millions at no cost, with the implicit endorsement that comes with a Sunday-night premiere. Süddeutsche Zeitung reportedly included Better Man among its recommended films for the weekend TV programme, lending the broadcast a measure of critical respectability that the box office never delivered.

That repositioning is the heart of the story. A film that paying cinema audiences rejected is being reframed as prestige viewing for the living room — the kind of second life that free television can still grant, even in the streaming age. Whether German viewers responded in greater numbers than cinema-goers did remains an open question; viewing figures for the broadcast have not been reported. But the scheduling alone signalled that ProSieben saw untapped potential in a film the theatrical market had written off.

Where to watch Better Man after the ProSieben premiere

Viewers who missed the Sunday evening broadcast still have options. According to reports, Better Man – Die Robbie Williams Story is available to stream on Amazon, giving audiences in Germany a way to watch the film on demand after its free-TV premiere. ProSieben aired the biopic on Sunday, 2 August 2026, in primetime, reportedly beginning at 20:15.

The streaming route may suit the film better than the cinema did. The theatrical release in 2024 drew poor box office returns in Germany, and some cinema audiences reportedly left screenings confused, though the reasons for that reaction have not been explained. A second showing on television, followed by on-demand availability, offers the film another chance to find its audience on its own terms.

Much about the film's performance remains unknown. No viewing figures for the ProSieben broadcast have been published, so it is not yet possible to say how many Germans tuned in on Sunday night or how the premiere fared against its primetime competition, which reportedly included Tatort and a James Bond film. Box office numbers for the German cinema run have likewise not been released, leaving the scale of the film's theatrical shortfall unclear. And while the film received an Oscar nomination, the category and the outcome of that nomination have not been stated. Until those figures emerge, the verdict on whether television has given Better Man the audience that cinemas did not will have to wait.

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