Monday morning, film executives at the Toronto Film Festival woke up to a record-breaking deal for Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” which Focus Features acquired for $30 million, a seemingly healthy sign for the market and the indie-film world.
There was just one problem: “The Holdovers” wasn’t a splashy premiere at the Princess of Wales or Royal Alexandra that had buyers huddling in the lobby but a private screening at the Scotiabank multiplex shown to just a handful of individuals representing all the major studios and streamers on Sunday.
And so far, it’s the only sale on that scale since the festival began last Thursday.