When Sundance was forced to pivot from a hybrid festival to a virtual one, there was disappointment from the filmmakers, yet many sellers and buyers predicted that, for better or worse, acquisitions would continue at a pace that might even outstrip last year’s record-setting deals for titles like “CODA” and “Summer of Soul.”
But despite Sundance front-loading nearly all of its premieres to the festival’s first four days, deals didn’t start coming in earnest until after everyone had a chance to view the full lineup. Starting Tuesday, a wave of acquisitions were announced, including Searchlight’s $7.5 million deal for the Emma Thompson dramedy “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” RLJE Entertainment’s low-seven-figure deal for the Karen Gillan-Aaron Paul thriller “Dual,” and Nat Geo’s mid-seven-figure buy of the volcano doc “Fire of Love.”