Domestic vs. international film deals vary in Berlin – The Hollywood Reporter

One month ago, with the 2024 Sundance Film Festival just around the corner, the most anticipated title for buyers wasn’t necessarily the action-adventure anthology with Pedro Pascal (Freaky tales) Or Kristen Stewart’s post-apocalyptic love story (Loved Me). He was Didi, a coming-of-age film about a 13-year-old in the Bay Area from a first-time feature director with no major American stars. She soon secured a deal with Focus Features, while films with brighter stars and higher concepts were still in negotiations for deals.

The United States has long been known as the ultimate arbiter of “bigger is better.” But risk aversion, given current economic conditions and industry trends back home (Disney, Paramount Global, Amazon MGM and others are currently undergoing layoffs), may not, says one American buyer, mean landing a big star or a big director — and it does mean a lower cost. . However, internationally, delegation seems to be business as usual, at least when it comes to theatre.

The 2023 hiatus has created huge holes in Hollywood studio release calendars for 2024. One top US sales agent points to the need for studios to “shoulder programming” outside of festivals: films that could easily fit into the liminal spaces between tentpoles, which are rushing Many of them end production after work stops on strike and are vulnerable to being moved. Didi It’s been dated this week for a mid-summer release, and sits among parent company Universal’s remake Cyclone And a Blumhouse horror movie.

From Sundance, there are other smaller films e.g Patella And Ghost light Find homes quickly and easily. The days of $25 million sales may be over (the closest at Sundance this year was the $17 million price tag for world rights to the thriller) It’s what’s inside, Which went to Netflix), since the American industry places a premium on lean productions that won’t require huge spending on earnings and acquisitions or even broader releases to reinvest the investment.

In the international market, particularly Europe, where E&A costs are lower and there is a stronger mix of medium to large independent players (StudioCanal, Leonine, Gaumont, Eagle Pictures), buyers remain hungry for larger, star-led productions and films. They could release widely and compete with studio films in their own territories.

“In the international market, I feel a real appetite for theatrical films, and bigger films,” says Tamara Berkemo of Palisades Park Pictures, which has brought in British director Ben Gregor to promote his adaptation of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree. A four-quarter family film with an adapted screenplay Wonka And Paddington 2 Writer Simon Farnaby.

The bulk of the titles are from Berlin’s biggest pre-sale titles — CAA and FilmNation’s Roof man Starring Channing Tatum; Thriller by David Mackenzie Valves With Aaron Taylor-Johnson of Antone, UTA and WME Independent; Or actor Dave Bautista and Samuel L. Jackson After burning From Black Bear and CAA – they look to these global buyers to provide the necessary financing to produce these films.

For smaller films, the opposite is often true, with US presale being ahead of international ones. Julia von Heinz’s intimate Holocaust-themed drama treasure, Starring Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry, it was previously sold to FilmNation and Bleecker Street, which will release the film in the US on June 14, with FilmNation using Berlin to complete international sales. Bleecker Street was also previously purchased for the house in Mike Leigh’s new film Hard facts Includes him Secrets and lies Starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Cornerstone screens for international buyers in Berlin.

Looking at past markets like Cannes, some of the largest packages have not announced any advance purchases in the US (examples include: Daisy Ridley hanging on the side of a cliff in London for Casino Royale director Martin Campbell and Sylvester Stallone hanging on the side of a cliff in the Cliffhanger sequel ). Then again, Cannes was being held at a time when American writers were calling it quits, and an actors’ strike was looking more likely with each passing day.

But “small” films, even those with high pedigree, are not a sure bet for US studios until their volumes are proven. Berlin editorial Little things like thisSources suggest that the quiet drama, which was helmed by Cillian Murphy, was sold to several studios in the US as a package by producers, including Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity, before heading to the festival with FilmNation. Now, with overwhelmingly positive reviews, Small Things can split the difference between local needs for small-batch content and the international desire for star power (like the recently Oscar-nominated Murphy) and earn a major deal.

“We will sell these big films to international buyers first and then sell them domestically for a potential deal with a studio or streamer,” says one packager.