2019-09-04 The Hollywood Reporter

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 58 SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

S

undance sizzled.

But the box office

of the films sold in

that market largely

fizzled over the past

few months. That has buyers, and

even sellers, expecting a market

correction this Toronto, with

little evidence to support the

astronomical price tags in Park

City (think eight-figure acquisi-

tions like Late Night and Blinded

by the Light). In a sign of the

anxiety felt by sales agents, most

are pre-screening their bigger

titles for distributors ahead of the

market. But ICM Partners’ Oliver

Wheeler says his team is bucking

that trend. “I still think premier-

ing at a festival, in a competitive

environment with the good old-

fashioned audience, is usually

the best way to go about selling a

film,” he says.

DEALMAKERS HOPE FOR

A MARKET CORRECTION

With Sundance titles fizzling at the box office, buyers and sellers heading to TIFF are cautious

as they grapple with how indie distribution models are changing in a world of streamers

and tentpoles: ‘What’s theatrical in today’s market?’ BY TATIANA SIEGEL AND SCOTT ROXBOROUGH

movies, with their built-in

marketing hooks, are in demand

in the indie space, and this

comedic tale of Long Island

school superintendents (Jackman

and Janney) caught up in an

embezzlement scandal, could play

to the I, Tonya crowd.

BLACKBIRD

Millennium

Stars Susan Sarandon,

Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska,

Sam Neill

Director Roger Michell

Buzz Targeting the same female-

skewing audience that came out

for The Wife, this family drama is

set over a single weekend, when

competing daughters (Winslet

and Wasikowska) gather with

their spouses and kids to say

good-bye to the family’s termi-

nally ill matriarch (Sarandon).

Most dealmakers expect Netflix

to strike for films with name

casts or foreign-language titles

to build its international slate.

Cornerstone Films’ Mark Gooder

asks the question vexing both buy-

ers and sellers: “What’s theatrical

in today’s market?” he says. “Is it

just tentpoles and horror films?”

Gooder notes that “the indie film

model was born out of nothing. It

built up into this huge business

model. But now it’s returning

to where it was.” Still, these

eight projects are among the top

contenders hoping to reverse the

cooling trend.

BAD EDUCATION

CAA/Endeavor

Stars Hugh Jackman,

Allison Janney

Director Cory Finley

Buzz Based-on-a-true-story

Summer’s

over, TIFF

beckons and

THR has

the lowdown

on the hottest

market

movies, early

awards buzz

and where

to eat, drink

and throw

an ax — and

what it’s like

to play Hitler

for laughs

EDITED BY

KEVIN CASSIDY