While the Toronto International Film Festival won’t officially launch a sales market until 2026, this year kicks off on Thursday with multiple buzzy titles for sale starring the likes of Ben Stiller, Sydney Sweeney, Jude Law and Tom Hiddleston.
Hollywood descends upon the Canadian metropolis for starry world premieres and the unofficial start of awards season. But for years now TIFF has also been a place of serious business. Last year the Glen Powell rom-com “Hit Man” sold to Netflix for $20 million at the festival after a raucous screening.
“They’ve very much shaped this festival with a sales environment in mind,” Intrepid Pictures CEO Trevor Macy told TheWrap as he prepared to head to TIFF with the Hiddleston-fronted Stephen King adaptation “The Life of Chuck,” from writer/director Mike Flanagan. “It seems like buyers are showing up in force.”
And to prove his point, Sony Classics scooped up “Jane Austen Ruined My Life” on Tuesday ahead of the festival.
Over 270 films are on the market this year, and Macy said that the demand “for strong titles in this moment of the market is going to exceed the supply of what good distributors have made internally.” He pointed to the success of Neon’s “Longlegs” this summer — the Nicolas Cage horror film grossed over $100 million off a strong marketing campaign — as an indie that connected with moviegoers theatrically.
But Jay Cohen, a partner at Gersh who heads film financing and is selling titles at the festival, cautioned that studios may only be looking to buy must-have titles, not filling out their slates. “There are really interesting films going to TIFF, but distributors already have pretty full slates,” he told TheWrap. “So the market will be driven more by passion less than need.”
Which means that only top quality films with identifiable audiences will attract buyers. Still, one agent noted that many of the buzziest sales titles, while officially unsold, already have distribution deals that have not been announced.
Macy and Intrepid are aiming to utilize what TIFF brings to the table — specifically when it comes to audiences — to find the right distributor for “The Life of Chuck,” which is a detour for horror filmmaker Flanagan, best known for “The Haunting” series on Netflix and the “Shining” sequel film “Doctor Sleep.” The new film is more “Stand by Me” than “The Shining,” and buyers haven’t prescreened it at all, so they will be seeing it for the first time at its world premiere in Toronto.
“From the time we made this movie, our first choice was Toronto because of the audience,” Macy said of the decision to debut at TIFF. “Our movie is fun and life-affirming but kind of sophisticated, so you want the right audience for that.” He and Flanagan had success a decade ago with the indie horror film “Oculus,” which found a buyer in Toronto and grossed over $44 million against a budget of just $5 million. It jumpstarted Flanagan’s career.
Will “The Life of Chuck” have the same success? Here’s TheWrap’s rundown of that and 17 of the other buzziest sales titles playing at TIFF this year.
“Nutcrackers”
After spending the last six years working in the “Halloween” and “Exorcist” franchises, filmmaker David Gordon Green returns to his indie roots with the comedy “Nutcrackers.” The film stars Ben Stiller as a workaholic who’s forced to look after his four nephews in rural Ohio. Green based the entire story on friends of his who live on a farm in Ohio, casting the real young boys to play versions of themselves in the film.
UTA is handling U.S. sales.
“Eden”
It’s strange to think about Ron Howard, Hollywood hitmaker, having a movie that still needs distribution — especially one starring Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney and Ana de Armas — but here we are. “Eden,” originally titled “Origin of the Species,” is set in 1929, with a couple (Law and Kirby) fleeing Germany to set up on an unpopulated island paradise. That promised peace is shattered by the arrival of more settlers (a couple played Daniel Brühl and Sweeney and Armas and her suitors). Soon enough, they find that the island is more imposing and dangerous than they imagined and that coexisting with one another could be even more difficult. The biggest question swirling around “Eden” is if it’s a more straight-down-the-middle thriller (which Howard is exceedingly good at – look no further than “Ransom” or his Dan Brown adaptations) or something more highbrow and intended for the awards race. Either way, should be a winner.
CAA Media Finance is handling U.S. sales.
“The Life of Chuck”
After years spent in the wilds of streaming, Mike Flanagan returns with his first feature since 2019’s “Doctor Sleep.” Like “Doctor Sleep,” “The Life of Chuck” is based on a work by Stephen King, in this case a short story from the author’s 2020 collection “If It Bleeds.” But don’t expect a horrifying descent into madness. The short story is told in reverse chronological order, so it’ll be interesting to see how (and if) Flanagan maintains that style. Saying anything more about the plot would give away the story’s essential magic, but the film draws on King’s literary origins, Flanagan’s track record of adapting King and a starry cast led by Hiddleston which also includes Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Harvey Guillén and Kate Siegel.
WME is handling U.S. sales
“The Deb”
Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut is described as an Australian musical comedy about a teen who gets canceled at her high school and is then shipped to stay with her cousin in the Outback. Wilson also stars in the film as an aspiring cool mom, but will the drama surrounding the release put off buyers? “The Deb” is currently the subject of dueling lawsuits, one from Wilson accusing the producers of “bad behavior” and trying to block the movie’s TIFF screening and another from the producers citing defamation.
WME is handling U.S. sales.
“Without Blood”
While Angelina Jolie launched into this year’s awards race with the debut of “Maria” at Venice, she also has a directorial effort of her own playing at TIFF. “Without Blood” is an adaptation of the Alessandro Baricco novel about a woman’s quest for revenge years after her family was murdered. Salma Hayek Pinault stars alongside Demián Bichir in what’s described as an “intimate chamber piece.”
CAA Media Finance is handling U.S. sales.
“On Swift Horses”
Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar-Jones, two of the buzziest young talents working today, topline this 1950s-set story of two people on parallel journeys who find themselves in over their heads. Edgar-Jones and Will Poulter are newlyweds and Elordi — who turned heads in “Euphoria” and “Saltburn” — plays Poulter’s brother-in-law. Daniel Minahan, a veteran TV director whose credits include “Deadwood,” “Game of Thrones” and “Six Feet Under,” helms this adaptation of Shannon Pufhal’s novel.
UTA Independent Film Group is handling U.S. sales.
“The Last Showgirl”
Pamela Anderson steps back into the spotlight in this story of a veteran showgirl who’s forced to change course when her Las Vegas strip show abruptly closes. From filmmaker Gia Coppola, the film’s ensemble includes Dave Bautista and Jamie Lee Curtis, but it’s the comeback narrative surrounding Anderson that should turn heads.
CAA Media Finance is handling U.S. sales.
“K-Pops”
Eight-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak marks his feature debut with “K-Pops,” a drama about a washed-up drummer who travels to South Korea to work on a pop idol show and discovers the son he didn’t know existed. .Paak directs and stars opposite his real-life son.
WME Independent and Stampede Ventures are handling U.S. sales.
“Daniela Forever”
Nacho Vigalondo, the filmmaker behind 2016’s “Colossal,” returns to TIFF with the story of a man (played by Henry Golding) who enrolls in a clinical trial that allows him to reunite with his lost lover (Beatrice Grannò) through lucid dreaming. The film, which is a meditation on grief and love, was selected for the Sloan Science on Film Showcase at the festival.
XYZ Films is handling U.S. sales.
“The Cut”
Shades of “The Wrestler” abound in “The Cut,” a visceral sports drama about a retired fighter who will stop at nothing to get back in the ring. A transformed Orlando Bloom anchors a cast that includes Caitriona Balfe as his wife and John Turturro as the trainer destined to get him in fighting shape — through means both legal and illegal. Sean Ellis (“Metro Manila”) directs.
UTA and WME are handling U.S. sales.
“All of You”
Can Brett Goldstein parlay his “Ted Lasso” fame into romance stardom? “All of You” puts that to the test as the actor stars alongside Imogen Poots in this near-future story of a man who accompanies his best friend to a test to determine her soulmate, only to discover maybe he’s actually in love with her. Given how keenly Goldstein stretched his rom-com chops on “Ted Lasso,” with the right marketing campaign this one could hit. Goldstein co-wrote the film with William Bridges, who directs.
MRC is handling U.S. sales.
“Ick”
Joseph Kahn, the music video marvel responsible for some of your favorite Taylor Swift clips, returns for his fourth movie after “Torque,” “Detention” and “Bodied” (which played Toronto in 2017). With “Ick,” which is playing in the midnight madness category, a high school science teacher (played by Brandon Routh) does battle with a parasitic alien entity (think “The Blob”) while also handling the general indifference of the small town to this new threat. Kahn is a premiere stylist and each of his movies has been delightful and impactful in a very specific way. It will be great to see him tackle some sci-fi drive-in nastiness, with a much-needed layer of social commentary. And hopefully “Ick” gets better distribution than “Bodied” or “Detention,” which were less released than slithered by. You know, like the ick itself.
CAA Media Finance is handling U.S. sales.
“Relay”
David Mackenzie, the director behind Best Picture nominee “Hell or High Water,” enters the world of whistleblowers for this thriller starring Riz Ahmed as a middleman for potential whistleblowers seeking to settle with corporations. Sarah Grant plays his latest client, but ruthless henchmen and sparks of romance threaten the ghost-like existence Ahmed’s character has built for himself.
CAA Media Finance and UTA are handling U.S. sales.
“The Friend”
The latest from the directing team of Scott McGehee and David Siegel is an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s 2018 novel “The Friend,” which won the National Book Award for Fiction and was included in The New York Times’ list of the best books of the 21st century. The film stars Naomi Watts as the book’s unnamed narrator, a woman who inherits a Great Dane named Apollo from her mentor and friend, a novelist who commits suicide (Bill Murray). Watts’ character has to deal with sorting out his affairs after his unexpected death while also figuring out what to do with Apollo, especially since her building doesn’t allow dogs. The TIFF program describes the film as delivering a “career best performance” from Watts. The supporting cast also includes Constance Wu, Ann Dowd, Noma Dumezweni and Carla Gugino.
CAA Media Finance is handling sales.
“The Last Republican”
Steve Pink, the Hollywood filmmaker who worked on “Grosse Pointe Blank,” “High Fidelity” and two “Hot Tub Time Machine” movies, turns his attention to documentary filmmaking. His subject? Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a “Hot Tub Time Machine” super fan who opens up to the left-wing filmmaker about the hardest year of his life, when he tried to hold Donald Trump and others accountable for the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. Kinzinger was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump and it has proven devastating to his career. Having a conscience has a price.
Submarine Entertainment is handling U.S. sales.
“Vice Is Broke”
Moviegoers love a good story of unchecked hubris and a meteoric rise and fall. And the last few years have been very generous with this kind of documentary, with the Fyre Festival getting two of them and MoviePass getting its own evisceration earlier this year. What makes “Vice Is Broke” unique is that the call is coming from inside the house. The movie was directed by Eddie Huang, who had his own travel show for Vice (“Huang’s World”) and became friends with Vice’s co-founder, the controversial Shane Smith. He witnessed the company’s meteoric rise and cataclysmic fall first-hand and documents every wild twist and turn, such as Vice co-founder Gavin McIness’ pivot to the racist Proud Boys group. This one is not for the faint of heart.
UTA and QC Entertainment are handling U.S. sales.
“From Ground Zero”
This should be a tough – but essential – watch. “From Ground Zero” channeled the combined work of 22 artists living in the Gaza Strip, who “sought to provide internally displaced artists — survivors of Israel’s nearly year-long assault, which has resulted in apocalyptic humanitarian conditions, destruction, mass killing, starvation, disease, and irreparable trauma for the people of Gaza — with a ‘canvas for the expression of personal stories,’” according to the official TIFF synopsis. This is a hot button topic for sure, which could be a bug or a feature, depending on its potential buyer.
Coorigines Production is handling sales.
“The Assessment”
“The Assessment” shows us that things can be worse… much worse. Set in a dystopian future ruined by climate change and overpopulation, it follows a couple (Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel) as they’re assessed by a government employee (Alicia Vikander) over the course of seven days. At the end of that week, it will be decided whether the couple can have children. But will the couple’s relationship survive their assessment? Fans of thoughtful, probing science fiction will undoubtedly be pleased by Fleur Fortuné’s debut feature.
UTA is handling sales.
