'Nutcrackers'

Source: Nutcracker Productions LLC

‘Nutcrackers’

Hulu is understood to be nearing an eight-figure deal for worldwide rights to David Gordon Green’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) opening night selection Nutcrackers.

Several days after Screen reported that buyers were circling the film, the deal marks the first major on-site acquisition of a TIFF world premiere and the second significant deal in Toronto after A24 pounced on Brady Corbet’s Venice premiere The Brutalist.

Hulu is understood to be lining up a December holiday season release on the feel-good story about a workaholic, played by Ben Stiller, who is suddenly tasked with looking after his livewire, orphaned nephews.

Rivulet Films fully financed and produced Nutcrackers with Rough House Pictures and the film shot late last year in Ohio under a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement. Rob Paris, Mike Witherill and Nate Meyer are the producers

UTA Independent Film Group represents worldwide rights on behalf of the filmmakers.

This year’s TIFF has been slow on the US deal-making front. It has always taken a few days for activity to click into gear in Toronto while buyers scramble to watch the major acquisition titles over the first weekend, however the 2024 edition has been particularly sluggish. Cautious US buyers are biding their time, while some arrived in Toronto with full slates.

That said, deals are expected to close in the coming days and weeks. TIFF runs through September 15.

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