Netflix has picked up the worldwide rights, excluding China, to Sony’s action comedy “The Man From Toronto,” moving it from theatrical release to streaming as part of the first-look deal between the two studios.
The film stars Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson in a mix-up comedy in which a New York City screw-up is mistaken for the world’s deadliest assassin at an Airbnb rental apartment. It had previously been scheduled for theatrical release on August 12.
Patrick Hughes (“The Hitman’s Bodyguard”) directed the film from a screenplay by Robbie Fox and Chris Bremner. Kaley Cuoco, Jasmine Mathews, Lela Loren, Pierson Fode, Jencarlos Canela and Ellen Barkin also star with Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch producing. Bill Bannerman, Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth are executive producers.
As the sole major studio in Hollywood without an in-house streaming service, Sony signed a first-look deal in April 2021 making Netflix its main streaming partner. As part of this deal, certain films initially set for theatrical release have been sold to Netflix for streaming, including the animated film “The Mitchells vs. The Machines.”
If Netflix opts not to release one of Sony’s films, Sony has the option to sell distribution rights to other streamers, as it did when “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” was sold to Amazon last year.
The rights sale was first reported by Variety.