The Weinstein Company is understood to be close to signing a new deal that will see it hold on to US rights to Cannes opener Grace Of Monaco.

The development follows protracted talks with the producers that according to sources could see Harvey Weinstein pay as little as $2m, a considerable discount on the $5m he is originally understood to have pledged.

Under the new terms, the US version will be based on that of director Olivier Dahan. Any changes will need to be approved by both Dahan and Weinstein.

The pair have duelled for months over their artistic visions of how the film would turn out. The parties initially eyed a November 2013 release, which was subsequently put back several times as the bickering continued.

No US release date has been set at time of writing although sources did not rule out late summer or early autumn. Grace Of Monaco stars Nicole Kidman and Tim Roth and opens in France on May 14 before rolling out in key international markets this summer.

Harvey Weinstein will not attend Wednesday night’s (14) world premiere because according to TWC he is with his wife Georgina Chapman on a pre-arranged trip to Syrian refugee camps in Jordan. COO David Glasser and other TWC executives will walk the red carpet.