Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Sundance action comedy Thelma, which stars June Squibb as a grandmother who sets out to reclaim what was taken from her.
Josh Margolin’s film debuted in Premieres on the opening day in Park City and immediately sparked interest from buyers. Magnolia prevailed in what it called a competitive situation with multiple offers.
Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Malcolm McDowell round out the key cast on Thelma, which playfully imbues the film with a Mission: Impossible vibe as the titular nonagenarian falls for a phone scam and resolves to find the wrong-doers.
Margolin was inspired to tell the story after his actual grandmother Thelma nearly fell for a phone scam, which prompted the filmmaker to imagine what she might have done had it worked.
Magnolia is planning a wide theatrical release. Producers are Zoë Worth and Chris Kaye of Bandwagon, Nicholas Weinstock of Invention Studios, Benjamin Simpson, and Karl Spoerri and Viviana Vezzani of Zurich Avenue.
SPG3 Pictures fully financed. Executive producers are Squibb, Hechinger, and Tobias Gutzwiller.
CAA Media Finance represented sales rights and negotiated the deal with Magnolia SVP of acquisitions John Von Thaden.
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