By Monday evening in Park City studios and streamers were understood to be in hot pursuit of the Alison Brie-Dave Franco body horror Together, by far the most broadly appealing acquisitions target in what Sundance buyers agree has otherwise been a desert of commercial prospects.
Michael Shanks’ feature directorial debut and Midnight entry turned heads (and stomachs) as soon as it debuted on Sunday at Eccles Theatre. Buyers including Apple, A24, Focus Features, Amazon, and Searchlight Pictures are among those who were either in attendance at the premiere or who have since seen it.
Real-life item Alison Brie and Dave Franco play a fragile, sexless couple who make an ill-fated move to the countryside for her job, only to get sucked into in an outlandishly horrific predicament that brings them back together in a way they could scarcely have imagined.
In light of the exceptional $70m-plus global box office of Mubi’s body horror Oscar contender The Substance, Together has escalated into Sundance’s must-have and suitors are giving chase. WME Independent handles worldwide sales. A P&I and second public screening on Monday will be followed by more public screenings throughout the week.
Other fiction features without distribution have impressed over the first five days, despite the preponderance for bleak stories that some observers say has set a rather sullen table for the US acquisitions space in the months ahead.
However many agree the quality of filmmaking has been high, and nowhere has this been more evident that with the documentary selection, which one seasoned executive called “the bright spot”, further cementing the festival’s status as a world-class launch pad. Four titles from last year’s crop occupy five of the Academy’s documentary Oscar nominee slots announced last week.
Buyers have made offers on critically lauded picks like Submarine sales titles Andre Is An Idiot and It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, and there is sustained interest in The Stringer and Come See Me In The Good Light, as well as Autlook Filmsales’ Coexistence, My Ass!, and Jacinda Ardern profile Prime Minister, sold by CAA Media Finance.
With sales activity taking its usual sweet time to kick into action, industry sources agreed that after the first weekend Sundance 2025 had thrown up fiction features with name cast that are likely to figure in conversations in the coming days and weeks.
Olivia Colman and John Lithgow charmed audiences in Sophie Hyde’s Premieres selection Jimpa, sold by Protagonist Pictures and CAA Media Finance; and Young Vic artistic director Nadia Fall proved her cinematic chops in Brides, a lively and ultimately sobering directorial debut in World Cinema Dramatic Competition handled by Bankside Films.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as a grieving father in Premieres entry The Thing With Feathers (UTA Independent Film Group, mk2 Films) has earned strong reviews, and Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna in Bill Condon’s Kiss Of The Spider Woman (WME Independent, CAA Media Finance) also entertained – but it is expensive with that cast and attachments, and will only be for the more deep-pocketed players. Ira Sach’s far smaller, compelling two-hander Peter Hujar’s Day with Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall has won fans and is represented by WME Independent and SBS International.
There have been worthwhile discoveries, too, which would appear to paint a promising picture at least of the creative health of the independent community. The hope is that financiers take notice and form meaningful ties with emerging talent.
Buyers have been particularly impressed by Ricky, Rashad Frett’s feature debut in U.S. Dramatic Competition, based on his 2023 Sundance short selection, about a 30-year-old fresh out of prison who must learn how to handle his new adult independence. The early word from Park City among acquisitions and other industry executives is that Frett and his lead Stephan James are names to remember.
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