From buzzy crowdpleasers with name cast to intriguing documentaries, there are many Sundance 2019 titles with serious sales potential.
Sundance 2019 brings tempered expectations after a quiet 2018 market, when big-spenders Netflix and Amazon withdrew from the fray. As distributors can no longer rely on output deals with Netflix, they are looking to Starz and Hulu to make up the shortfall. And with Amazon Video Direct’s Film Festival Stars program gone, there’s no artificial bottom to the market, which gives everyone more room to maneuver, but also risks leaving the least commercial indies with no distribution at all. And some companies are changing their deals so that theatrical distribution is no longer guaranteed.
The festival always programs a strong selection of potential documentary Oscar contenders, but while prices are bound to be more exuberant following last year’s tsunami of box office hits led by Oscar contender “RBG” and Morgan Neville tearjerker “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” this year’s selection may not be as commercially robust.
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Among the usual theatrical suspects, Fox Searchlight is unlikely to take any big swings heading into its merger with Disney; and Lionsgate, Focus Features, Roadside Attractions, Neon and Magnolia will be looking for a mix of features and documentaries. IFC may have lost its revered co-president Jonathan Sehring, but will continue with the veteran team of long-term co-president Lisa Schwartz and acquisitions honcho Arianna Bocco.
“There will be one or two big movies everyone’s into like ‘The Big Sick,’” said Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker, referencing the big Amazon sale from two years ago. SPC is launching two 2019 documentaries at the festival, sailing saga “Maiden” and dramatic frozen water-experience “Aquarela.” “And then a lot of films that are surprises, because it’s not clear what they are beforehand.”
