TIFF industry office director Kathleen Drumm has hailed the number of sales during Toronto for festival and out-of-festival films.
“We track a cluster of the main industry players who do that business and we saw business happening on and off the red carpet,” Drumm told Screen. “Buyers and sellers were not just selling films at the festival but also projects off promos and completed films outside of the festival.”
Drumm noted the sales continued to trickle in well after Toronto concluded on September 17 and spoke to Screen in the week when Byron Allen announced a deal on Hostiles and Bleecker Street took On Chesil Beach.
“There were sales on more than 30 festival films, mostly North America deals but of course many others,” she said. “There were sales on 35 projects outside the festival that were sold during TIFF. Some of those were equal in terms of money to the films that showed during the festival.”
Noting that amounts paid were “realistic”, Drumm added: “We may have seen a bit of a market correction in terms of the money that was being paid. Netflix paid $12.5m at Sundance for Mudbound but during TIFF there were sales in the $4-5m range.”
New players were out in force. Allen’s Entertainment Studios picked up festival selection Chappaquiddick for $4m plus a $16m P&A commitment, completed Keanu Reeves sci-fi Replicas outside the festival for $4m, and the aforementioned Hostiles.
Micah Green and Dan Friedkin’s 30WEST bought Beast, which was one of the stand-out films in Platform, and joined Neon in a $5m North American deal for I, Tonya. Wearing its sales agent hat, 30WEST licensed worldwide rights on Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2 to YouTube Red.
Drumm noted that while it was not paying the sums seen at Sundance, Netflix was active, acquiring Jim And Andy for $3m and Long Time Running, as well as out-of-festival title Anon for $4m.
“There’s a broad mix of genre being bought inside and outside the festival. Of the non-festival projects, more than 50% were heading towards genre – thriller, horror, sci-fi like Replicas and Anon, which had big numbers attached to them,” Drumm said.
Toronto saw significant international sales on, a rising trend in recent years. Among hot titles to sell were Hannah, Sweet Country, and Peelers. “What TIFF does is it acts as a very strong platform that can elevate a release in its home country,” Drumm said. “And increasingly there is more and more media activity happening around those films at TIFF so that sellers can bank that media used in releases and support distribution partners around the world.”
She added there were 5,690 registered industry at this year’s event, not counting media, filmmaker and actors. “There’s a desire for more customised service [from Toronto staff] and that’s an area we’re looking at more closely to see how we can provide that.” One such service was online ticketing, which was a feature of the festival for the first time and drew an “overwhelmingly positive” response from attendees.
FILMS IN OFFICIAL SELECTION
Title / genre / section / buyer / amount (if reported) / territory
1% / crime thriller / Discovery / A24-Direct TV / high six-figures / North America
Beast / thriller / Platform / 30WEST / seven figures / North America
Chappaquiddick / drama / Gala / Entertainment Studios / $4m + $16m P&A commitment / North America
Cocote / avant-garde / Wavelengths / Grasshopper / US
Disobedience / drama /Special Presentation / Bleecker Street / US
Euphoria / drama/ Platform / Great Point Media licensed multiple European territories
Euthanizer / exploitation movie / Contemporary World Cinema / Uncork’d Entertainment / North America
First Reformed / thriller / Masters / A24 / US
Hannah / drama / Contemporary World Cinema / TF1 licensed multiple territories: Italy (I Wonder Pictures), Benelux (Imagine Films), Greece (Seven Films), Switzerland (Pathé), Japan (Aya Pro), Taiwan (Mirror Stage Films), China (Time-In-Portrait)
Hostiles / western / Special Presentation / Entertainment Studios / North America
I Love You, Daddy /dark comedy / Special Presentation / The Orchard / $5m / North America
I, Tonya / biopic / Special Presentation / Neon-30West / $5m /North America
Jane / documentary / TIFF DOCS / Dogwoof / UK
Jeanette, The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc / avant-garde / Wavelengths / Kimstim / North America
Jim and Andy: the Great Beyond / documentary/ TIFF DOCS / Netflix / $3m+ / worldwide
Kodachrome / road movie / Special Presentation / $4m / Netflix / CAA and WME Global licensed: North America, UK, Italy, Benelux, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Japan, India
Lady Bird / drama / Special Presentation / A24/IAC – North America / Focus – all international
Let The Corpses Tan / western /Midnight Madness / Kino Lorber / North America
Long Time Running / documentary/ Gala / Netflix / Worldwide
Marlina The Murderer In Four Acts / western / Contemporary World Cinema / Kimstim and Icarus – US, Raven Banner – Canada
On Chesil Beach / drama / Special Presentation / Bleecker Street / US
Porcupine Lake / drama / Contemporary World Cinema / Breaking Glass Pictures / North America
Prototype / experimental/ Wavelengths / Grasshopper / US
Supersize Me 2: Holy Chicken / documentary / TIFF DOCS / YouTube Red / $3.5m / worldwide
Sweet Country / western / Platform / Samuel Goldwyn Films – North America. Memento Films International licensed: UK (Thunderbird), France (The Jokers), Spain (Wanda), Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Italy (102 Distribution), Switzerland (Praesens), Greece (One From The Heart), Turkey (Filmarti), Eastern Europe (HBO), Hungary (ADS Services), Romania (Macondo), former Yugoslavia (Megacom), Bulgaria (Bulgaria Film Vision), China (Lemon Tree), Middle East (Falcon Films)
The Children Act / drama / Special Presentation / A24-DirecTV / North America
The Cured / horror / Special Presentation / IFC – North America / Bac Films licensed: Greece (Spentzos), Turkey (Filmdom), Malaysia and Indonesia (Tanweer), Singapore (Shaw), Taiwan (Caichang), Thailand (Sahamongkol), Vietnam (Skyline), Philippines (Silverline), Pan-Asia pay TV (Fox), Hong Kong (Bravos), Middle East (Falcon)
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer / supernatural thriller / Special Presentation / HanWay Films licensed: Germany (Alamode), Spain (Sun), Benelux (Imagine/Film Freak), Switzerland (Xenix), Italy (Lucky Red), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Portugal (PRIS), CIS/Baltic states (A-One Films), Latin America (Sun Distribution), Japan (Fine Films), South Korea (Aud), India and Pakistan (PictureWorks), Middle East (Front Row), Austraia/New Zealand (Madman)
The Gospel According To Andre / documentary/ TIFF DOCS / Magnolia – US, Pacific Northwest Pictures – Canada
The Ritual / horror / Midnight Madness / Netflix / worldwide excluding UK
Three Peaks / psychological thriller/ Special Presentation / Greenwich Entertainment / US
Under The Tree / comedy / Contemporary World Cinema / Magnolia / North America
PROJECTS AND NON-FESTIVAL FILMS
Title / genre / buyer / amount (if reported) / territory
24 Frames / experimental / Janus Films – North America, UK
A Better Tomorrow 4 / action remake / Taiwan (Deepjoy Picture Corporation), Philippines (ABS-CBN Corporation), India (Viswass Films), Vietnam (Beta Media JSC)
A Dying King: Shah Of Iran / documentary / Caru Pictures – US, Vision Films – rest of the world
Acts Of Vengeance / action thriller/ Saban Films / North America
Angelica / thriller / Freestyle Digital Media / US
Anon / psychological thriller / Netflix / $4m / US, select territories
Been So long / musical / Netflix / seven figures / Worldwide
Better Watch Out / comedy horror / Universal Home Entertainment / UK, Australia
Black Hollow Cage / horror / LevelFILM / North America
Body Electric / drama / Breaking Glass Pictures / US
Bullet Head / action thriller / Saban Films / US
Camperones / comedy drama / Le Pacte / France
Day Of The Dead (zombie remake) US / Saban Films
Edie / drama / multiple territories: UK (Arrow Films), China (Beijing Spark Future), Australia, New Zealand (Rialto)
Hot Summer Nights / thriller / A24-DirecTV / North America
Maria By Callas: In Her Own Words / documentary / Sony Pictures Classics – North America, Australia, New Zealand
Midway / war / Lionsgate / $35m P&A / US
Out Of Blue / crime drama / Picturehouse / UK
Peelers / zombie / Devilworks licensed: Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Schröder Media), Poland (Kino Swiat), Scandinavia, Benelux (Take One), China (Virtual Cinema), Japan (TransWorld), South Korea (Korea Screen), Taiwan (Movie Cloud). Uncork’d holds North American rights.
Population Zero / thriller / Devilworks licensed: Netherlands and Brazil (Waquatike BV), China (HY Media), South Korea (Cinema Republic)
Red Christmas / horror / Devilworks licensed: UK (101 Films), Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Schröder Media), Latin America (DMD), South Korea (Cinema Republic), Canada (Raven Banner), Australia, New Zealand (Umbrella). Netflix streaming rights for USA.
Replicas / sci-fi / Entertainment Studios / $4m / North America
Salyut-7 / space drama / Indie Sales licensed: Germany, Austria (Tele München), Italy (Blue Swan Entertainment), Japan (Culture Entertainment), South Korea (Jinjin Pictures), Hong Kong, China (Beijing Turbo Film)
Some Kind Of Hate / supernatural horror / Japan (Fine Films), Taiwan (Movie Cloud)
Tehran Taboo / animation / Celluloid Dreams licensed: US, English-speaking Canada (Kino Lorber), French-speaking Canada (AZ Films), France (ARP Selection), Switzerland (Praesens Film), Greece (Seven Films), CIS, Baltics (Maywin Media AB), Yugoslavia (Discovery Film and Video Distribution), Hungary (Cirko Film), Singapore (Luna Films)
The 4th Company / drama / Netflix / worldwide
The Art Of Self Defense / dark comedy / Bleecker Street / worldwide
The Man From Earth: Holocene / sci-fi / Parade Deck Films / US
The Perfection / horror / Miramax / worldwide
Three Seconds / thriller / Aviron Pictures / North America
Trafficked / drama / Epic Pictures / US
Traffik / thriller / Lionsgate-Code Black / North America
Triple Threat / action thriller / Arclight licensed: Germany (Koch), Portugal (Cinemundo), Greece (Spentzos), Latin America (Swen), South Korea (Korea Screen), Japan (Klockworx), Middle East (Italia Films), Vietnam, Malaysia (Rainfilm, India (Viswaas Films), Hong Kong, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan (Netflix)
Vigilance / thriller / Lionsgate / US
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