Berlin: The Red Carpet May Be Empty, But the Market Is Red-Hot
In-person, this year’s Berlin Film Festival has been subdued and often somber, with a paucity of big stars, sparsely-attended red carpets and, largely due to the festival’s strict COVID regulations, a distinct lack of glitz and glamour.
Online, Berlin’s all-virtual European Film Market (EFM) is red-hot though. Sony Pictures’ huge, $60 million deal for worldwide rights to upcoming Tom Hanks comedy A Man Called Otto was the largest in EFM history — blowing past Netflix’s $55 million pre-buy for Christian Bale/Harry Melling period thriller The Pale Blue Eye last year. And it sent a clear signal that buyers are betting on a bounce-back of the theatrical business. Marc Forster’s English-adaptation of the 2015 Scandinavian hit A Man Called Ove is set to begin shooting later this month, with Sony reportedly planning a wide theatrical bow stateside this Christmas.
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The eight-figure price tag for Otto put the package, sold by STX International and CAA Media Finance out of reach for most independent buyers, but international distributors remain upbeat, citing the wide range of quality projects on offer this EFM.
Among many titles expected to sell out by the end of the market are Rich Flu, a social commentary thriller about a pandemic that only kills the wealthy, to be directed by The Platform helmer Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia and star Rosamund Pike; the Saoirse Ronan drama The Outrun from director Nora Fingscheidt (The Unforgivable); and the Asa Butterfield, Natalia Dyer high-concept horror movie All Fun and Games.
“We’ve been taking meetings and doing deals since Sundance and the business has been really brisk, we’re seeing a lot of aggressive pricing, a real infusion of cash into the market,” said Arclight CFO Brian Beckmann, whose upcoming titles include the fantasy adventure tale The Portable Door starring Sam Neill and Christoph Waltz, and Poker Face, directed by and starring Russell Crowe. “There’s a real thirst in the market for the kind of content that can capitalize on a decent theatrical release that will drive other revenues, premium pay-TV and streaming deals.”
But just what is a theatrical movie in the (hopefully) soon-to-be post-pandemic world is a big question. The audience for independent and art house films, a demographic that skews older, has not yet returned in force to cinemas. Emma Thompson comedy Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, which pre-sold to much of the world before its Sundance and Berlin bows, was picked up in the U.S. by Fox Searchlight, but the feature, which targets an older, female audience, will bypass domestic theaters and go straight to Hulu.
“We haven’t seen the older audience come back yet, but we think they will. All the old people aren’t going to stay on the couch forever,” says Monica Naldi of Italian distributor Barz and Hippo.
Multiple territory deals for Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane, a women’s rights drama starring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver, came in the wake of its Sundance premiere and just ahead of the EFM, suggesting buyers are still interested in adult-skewing dramas. Protagonist Pictures sold Call Jane to DCM for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; Umbrella Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand; Mis.label for Scandinavia and Eagle for Italy among other deals. Roadside Attractions picked up U.S. rights to the film in January and is planning a wide theatrical release this fall.
But an impressive and growing lineup of art house titles on streaming services — see Netflix’s Oscar contenders The Power of the Dog and The Lost Daughter or AppleTV+’s CODA — means greater competition for traditional distributors. And less room for error.
“As more people get used to watching such high-quality Hollywood streamer-produced originals online, their expectation [for] indie films will be even higher since they have to pay as much as their whole monthly Netflix subscription fee just to watch one film in the theater,” notes Miyuki Takamatsu, founder and CEO of Japanese sales outfit Freestone Productions. Takamatsu, who has handled worldwide sales for local auteurs like Koyoshi Kurosawa and Naomi Kawase, says if Japanese indie films want to get people into theaters, they will need to up their game.
“Indie films need to polish themselves to reach a broader audience or become more extreme, like the older generations of Japanese indie directors did.”
Patrick Brzeski contributed to this report.
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