Following an all-night bidding session at the Toronto International Film Festival, Screen Media Films has acquired the U.S. rights for “The Bad Batch” on Thursday.
The dystopian love story by Ana Lily Amirpour won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, where it debuted last week.
The film, staring Suki Waterhouse, Jason Momoa, Giovanni Ribisi and Yolonda Ross, is about a group of cannibals in a Texas wasteland. Cameos from Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey and Diego Luna are also featured.
“The Bad Batch” marks Amirpour’s highly anticipated followup to her directorial debut, “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.”
Screen Media will release the film, produced by VICE and Annapurna Pictures, in theaters in early 2017. It will also play at Fantastic Fest later this month.
“We’ve been impressed with Lily as a filmmaker ever since her first film and were blown away by her vision for ‘The Bad Batch.’ We couldn’t pass up the chance to work with her, Annapurna and Vice,” said Seth Needle, SVP of worldwide acquisitions at Screen Media Films.
Amirpour, who wrote and directed the film, said her new film lends itself to big-screen viewing. “It just won’t be the same on a small scale,” she said in a statement.