US distributors are heading to the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin with an air of cautious optimism after last month’s Sundance Film Festival saw a decent flow of acquisitions and one all-night bidding contest.
As of early February, there were three confirmed eight-figure deals from Park City alongside at least nine other sales, with more expected to close in the weeks ahead.
Business started slowly in Utah but picked up on the first weekend when Searchlight Pictures prevailed over rival bidders and paid $10m for the world on Jesse Eisenberg’s widely admired comedy A Real Pain.
Within days Netflix had forked out $17m for the biggest deal of Sundance, landing worldwide rights to horror title It’s What’s Inside, and nearly two weeks later Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) confirmed it had acquired the documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story in a deal reported to be worth $15m.
That is a remarkable sum for a documentary on the market and shows that non-fiction features with broad appeal and a celebrity hook will drive high prices. WBD plans to exploit the story of Reeve’s life across its divisions, with a theatrical release through Warner Bros complemented by exposure through CNN Films and Max as the conglomerate flexes its multi-platform muscle.
“It’s definitely feeling like an uptick,” says Jason Ishikawa, senior executive at Cinetic Media, who represented the Super/Man filmmakers in the deal with WBD. “It’s an aggressive market for people thinking about docs in a commercial, expansive way.”
By and large the types of films on offer at Sundance differ wildly from those at Berlin and the market, yet US buyer engagement from Park City shows a range of distributors have been willing to commit.
That could bode well for distributors (and exhibitors) looking to prop up a release calendar schedule full of potholes after the 2023 dual Hollywood strikes brought the US production sector to its knees. Appealing completed films can plug gaps: Searchlight now has A Real Pain to complement its annual roster, and Warner Bros can strategise over the release date of Super/Man, regarded by sources as the best non-fiction film on offer at Sundance.
Netflix is usually active at Sundance and its productive time in Park City was par for the course — the streamer also picked up docs Will & Harper, Ibelin, Daughters and Skywalkers: A Love Story.
Focus Features bought Sean Wang’s popular coming-of-age drama Dìdi, and Sony Pictures Classics snapped up North America and a handful of territories on Rich Peppiatt’s Irish rap hit Kneecap.
Amazon MGM Studios bought the comedy My Old Ass featuring Aubrey Plaza, and Neon took the world on Steven Soderbergh’s Presence and is expected to commence international sales at EFM on what will be a hot sales target for international theatrical buyers. The Lucy Liu-starring ghost story marked Soderbergh’s first film as director in Sundance since his 1989 breakout sex, lies, and videotape.
Deep pockets
Arguably one of the most significant deals came when Magnolia Pictures acquired North American rights to Thelma, the action comedy starring June Squibb as a no-nonsense nonagenarian on the warpath to reclaim what was taken from her.
Magnolia is planning a theatrical release that will be wider than usual and the fact it stepped up and beat other, more deep-pocketed bidders speaks well to the health of the acquisitions sector.
One source at Sundance hinted that the distribution sector may see a return of sorts of the pay-1 buyer for the first paid-for TV window after theatrical. Having a pay-1 partner helps theatrical buyers compete for titles and would be most welcome, particularly among the smaller independent buyers.
Netflix has been vocal about its strategy of licensing more third-party content and it remains to be seen if it and other streamers are prepared to take the pay-1 window on more independent films or titles not in the English language, many of which will be on offer in Berlin.
With production schedules thrown into disarray by last year’s writers and actors strikes and it being harder for independents — working across all budgets — to secure talent as the latter rejoin or commit to higher-paying studio and streamer projects, a confident US buyer sector could help reduce the impact of a skimpy 2024 release calendar.
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