Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl from AMC arrived suddenly this weekend to the delight of exhibitors and distress of quite a few distributors amid an explosion of indie fare from The Smashing Machine, Good Boy and Bone Lake in wide release to standout documentaries like Orwell: 2+2=5 and Daniel Day-Lewis’ return to acting in Anemone.
Dogs are always first to sniff trouble as IFC’s supernatural Good Boy opens in 1,650 theaters. The feature directorial debut of Ben Leonberg that premiered at SXSW is a haunted house horror told through the eyes of a family dog — and starring the director’s own pooch, Indy. Written by Leonberg and Alex Cannon. When Indy’s owner Todd (Shane Jensen) leaves city life for a long-vacant family home in the country, the canine’s new world is immediately filled with unease as he senses invisible presences, follows phantom tracks, receives chilling warnings from a ghostly dog and is haunted by glimpses of the previous resident’s gruesome demise. When a dark influence begins to grip Todd, Indy must fight a malevolent force.
The low budget film wasn’t initially going wide but IFC responded to early audience reaction. The launch of the trailer and poster went viral in July, resulting in over 100 million views combined. That’s the largest reach in company history for IFC, which had initially set a moderate release but evolved the campaign to align with fan reception.
Orwell: 2+2=5 from Neon opens at the IFC Center in New York — a documentary about the perils of authoritarianism from the author of 1984 and Animal Farm that couldn’t be more timely. World premiered at Cannes (Deadline review here), screened at TIFF and at the Camden International Film Festival — see interview with director Raoul Peck. The film, produced by Alex Gibney, also received one of this year’s Albie Awards from the Maysles Documentary Center. Neon is planning a best Best Documentary awards campaign.
Orwell’s works foretold a chilling, authoritarian future. In the film, Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) interweaves clips, readings from Orwell’s diary by Damian Lewis, cinematic references, and modern-day footage to craft a portrait of the writer and a fresh take on how prophetic his work has become, not just in the U.S. today but over many decades and countries.
Peck will be doing Q&As this weekend ahead of a a five city tour of Washington D.C. (Alamo Bryant Street), Chicago (Gene Siskel), San Francisco (Roxie Cinema) and LA (Landmark Nuart).
Neon is working with publisher Penguin Books on screenings and outreach and on promotions with local bookstores and colleges. Peck appeared recently at the 92nd Street Y for a conversation with George Packer about Orwell and his legacy. The distributor is bringing members and leaders of the ACLU, Committee to Protect Journalists and Freedom of the Press Foundation to screenings around the country.
Other docs this weekend include TIFF-premiering The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue in 100+ theaters via Forston Consulting in the U.S. and Cineplex Pictures in Canada. Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich’s story of retired Israeli general Noam Tibon, who, on October 7, 2023, embarked on a ten-hour journey across a country under siege to save his family. He navigated ambushes, roadblocks and a collapsing security system in a race against time after a desperate text from his son from the kibbutz Nahal Oz near the northern Gaza Strip after it was raided by Hamas. The film premiered at TIFF after a rocky start, appearing on the original schedule, then disinvited then re-invited by festival organizers, winning the People’s Choice Award for documentary. See Deadline Q&A with Avrich.
HBO Documentary Films opens Sundance-premiering The Alabama Solution by Andrew Jarecki (The Jinx, Capturing the Friedmans, Catfish) and Charlotte Kaufman in limited release. In 2019, the filmmakers visit an Alabama prison to film a revival meeting. But off camera, incarcerated men whisper about terrible goings on being kept secret from the public, sparking a six-year investigation behind the walls of the nation’s deadliest prison system. The filmmakers learn about a suspicious and violent death and, as the story unfolds in real time, that it isn’t an isolated incident and that the official version appears far from the truth. Hits HBO/HBO Max on Oct. 10.
Utopia presents SXSW-premiering documentary Are We Good, a portrait of comedian and podcast pioneer Marc Maron in limited release in NY and LA. Following the sudden loss of his partner and filmmaker Lynn Shelton, Maron struggles with grief, disillusionment and a shifting comedy landscape. Featuring Maron, interviews with comics Nate Bargatze, John Mulaney, David Cross, Michaela Watkins, W. Kamau Bell, Laurie Kilmartin, Sam Lipsyte and Brendan McDonald, and footage from his WTF podcast with Barack Obama, Andrew Garfield, Patton Oswalt and more. The theatrical release coincides with the end of the enormously popular podcast after 16 years.
At the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown LA and AMC Americana in Glendale for at least weeklong runs. Additional one-night screenings in 25+ theaters in LA on 10/5 and 10/8. In NY, opens at Regal Union Square and AMC Empire 25. Plays Regal UA Kaufman Astoria and Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan on 10/5.
Focus Features starts the limited release of Ronan Day-Lewis directorial debut Anemone at 862 theaters. The film is co-written by and stars the helmer’s father, Daniel Day-Lewis, in a return to acting after an eight-year hiatus. (He last appeared in Focus’ 2017 Phantom Thread by Paul Thomas Anderson.) The film featuring Sean Bean and Samantha Morton just world premiered at the New York Film Festival, see Deadline review. Bean and the elder Day-Lewis are two brothers who come together after complicated decades apart.
The Ice Tower from Yellow Veil Pictures starring Marion Cotillard, written and directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic, opens at IFC Center in NYC and Laemmle Glendale in LA. Premiered in Berlin, Deadline review here. In the 1970s, a runaway orphan Jeanne (Clara Pacini) falls under the spell of Cristina (Cotillard), enigmatic star of a film version Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen being shot in the studio where she has taken refuge. A mutual fascination grows between the actress and the girl. With August Diehl and Gaspar Noé.
Horror creature feature Coyotes by Colin Minihan (Grave Encounters) hailing from Fantastic Fest opens on about 300 screens via Aura Entertainment. Trapped in their Hollywood Hills home, a family must fight for survival as a pack of savage coyotes closes in. Stars Justin Long, Katherine McNamara and Kate Bosworth. Written byTad Daggerhart, Daniel Meersand, and Nick Simon.
Wide: A24’s Venice and TIFF-premiering The Smashing Machine by Benny Safdie starring Dywane Johnson (who also produces) opens on 3,345 screens. A biopic of legendary mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr. See Deadline review.
Bleecker Street’s Fantastic Fest erotic thriller Bone Lake by Mercedes Bryce Morgan debuts on 1,045 screens. Written by Joshua Friedlander, it stars Alex Roe, Maddie Hasson, Marco Pigossi, Andra Nechita, Clayton Spencer and Eliane Reis. A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with another mysterious and attractive couple. Premiered at Fantastic Fest 2024.