News

Italy’s Rai Cinema, which has four titles in this year’s Cannes selection, has closed a deal on Ron Howard’s next movie, “Origin of Species,” a hot project at the Cannes market starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Ana de Armas, Jude Law and Alicia Vikander.

Rai Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco said the company – which is the film arm of Italian state broadcaster Rai – has teamed up with Rome-based Lucisano Media Group to acquire Italian rights from CAA Media Finance on Howard’s survival thriller penned by Noah Pink (“Tetris”) about a a group of eclectics who turn their backs on civilization and head to the Galapagos.

In Cannes, Rai Cinema also picked up Italian rights from Gaumont on family movie “Moon The Panda,” by French filmmaker Gilles de Maistre, who is known for movies about human-animal relationships, such as “Mia and the White Lion” and “The Wolf and the Lion.

Lucas Bernard’s romantic comedy ’In The Sub For Love’ is another new acquisition for French studio.

French studio Gaumont has unveiled a hefty genre-hopping Cannes slate complete with all new acquisitions Gilles de Maistre’s family adventure Moon The Panda, Stéphane Brizé’s romance drama Out Of Season and Lucas Bernard’s romantic comedy In The Sub For Love in addition to a slew of market premieres and official selection festival titles.

New acquisitions

Moon The Panda is the latest film from the master of the human-animal adventure tale Gilles de Maistre following Mia And The White Lion and The Wolf And The Lion.

After a sleepy January mostly dominated by Spider-Man: No Way Home taking victory laps after its explosive December opening, February looks to be considerably more eventful. The star-powered slate includes a franchise follow-up (Death on the Nile) and a potential franchise starter (Uncharted) mixed in with a musical rom-com (Marry Me) and a comedy (Dog) to round things out, not to mention a potential boost to the specialty market once the Oscar nominations come out. The month should get off to a solid start this weekend with the latest Roland Emmerich disaster epic Moonfall and the return of the Jackass gang in Jackass Forever.

It may be a close match, but the weekend will likely go to Jackass Forever. Paramount is releasing the film on 3,600 screens and is expecting a gross in the mid-teens for the series’ fourth film (fifth when you count the associated Bad Grandpa). That would make...

"I have to protect them!" Blue Fox Entertainment has revealed the official US trailer for a family adventure movie titled The Wolf and the Lion, opening in theaters nationwide this February. From the filmmakers behind that other animal movie Mia and the White Lion, this one again brings a big cat to the big screen. A wolf pup and a lost lion cub are rescued by a girl in the heart of the Canadian wilderness. Their friendship will change their lives forever. They forge an inseparable bond, but their world soon collapses as the forest ranger discovers the animals and takes them away. The film stars Molly Kunz, Graham Greene, Charlie Carrick, Derek Johns, Rhys Slack, and Victor Cornfoot. It's another one of these modern Homeward Bound stories, about animals reconnecting with their human friends on an journey through the wilderness. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Gilles de Maistre...

Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to Studiocanal’s adventure family film “The Wolf and the Lion” from French director Gilles de Maistre (“Mia and the White Lion”).

Released from 2018 in over 50 countries around the world, “Mia and the White Lion” earned north of $40 million at the worldwide box office, an outstanding figure for an independent film.

“The Wolf and the Lion,” starring Molly Kunz (“Colony”), Graham Greene and Charlie Carrick (“Reign”), will be released by Blue Fox in U.S. theaters in early 2022 on over 300 screens. The movie, which recently won best children’s film at the Zurich Intl. Film Festival, was co-penned by Prune de Maistre, whose screenwriting credits include “Mia and the Lion.”

The film kicks off when 20-year-old Alma (Kunz) rescues two helpless cubs, a wolf and a lion, which forge an inseparable bond. Taken away by the forest ranger, the cub brothers embark...

"What if he escape from a zoo, or something?" Lionsgate has released a trailer for Lena and Snowball, a charming lion cub drama based on a true story. This seems to be a cheesy American remake of the French film Mia and the White Lion, about a young woman who befriends a lion cub living in Africa. This one has a similar story. Lena tries to keep playful Snowball out of trouble, but the clumsy poachers who kidnapped the valuable cub, and the cruel trophy collector who paid for him, are desperate to get him back. That sounds like an entirely uninspired story. Melissa Collazo stars in this as Lena; she's joined by Robert Knepper, Wade Williams, Branscombe Richmond, Ansuman Bhagat, and Elliott Sancrant. This looks way too much like it's trying to capitalize on the "Tiger King" buzz, and retell a story in a more cheesy way than actually...

Robert Downey Jr.’s family film “Dolittle” and Sony’s thriller “Bloodshot” led China’s first opening weekend at the box office since the coronavirus outbreak, a sign that new titles sell better than re-runs of beloved classics. Five out of the top 10 films this weekend were Hollywood titles.

China began reopening theaters in regions deemed at low risk for Covid-19 on Monday. As of noon on Sunday, local time, it had opened around 4,900 cinemas, accounting for approximately 44% of the country’s total. They are currently only allowed to operate at 30% capacity to provide sufficient social distancing between customers.

“Dolittle,” from Universal, was the top title this weekend with a $4.71 million three-day debut, according to Chinese data provider Ent Group. Vin Diesel-starring “Bloodshot,” backed by China’s Bona Film Group, trailed in second place, bowing to the tune of $2.61 million.

Local crime thriller “Sheep Without a Shepherd” came in third with $2 million.

Sales agents face challenging times due to disrupted film festival and market circuit.

French sales agents association Adef has raised the alarm for the future of those independent film productions that were due to hit the festival circuit this spring and summer, when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down numerous film events including the Cannes Film Festival.

The Paris-based body is calling for greater cooperation between film festivals to ensure productions in the mix for premieres at cancelled events such as Cannes, Locarno and Karlovy Vary are not left out in the cold. The association represents some 40 French sales companies, or 95% of France’s sales sector.

Charades, the Paris-based sales company behind the Oscar-nominated “I Lost My Body” and “Mirai,” has closed a raft of deals on high-profile animated features, including “Little Nicholas” and “Marona’s Fantastic Tale.”

Anca Damian’s “Marona’s Fantastic Tale,” which world premiered in competition at last year’s Annecy Film Festival and was nominated at the European Film Awards, portrays a dog who, reflecting back on her life, reminisces about her different homes and owners after being hit by a car.

Set for a North American release later this year with Gkids, “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” has been acquired by Japan (Riskit), Spain (Pack Magic), the Baltics (Scanorama), Taiwan (Sky Digi), China (Legend Film), Poland (New Horizons), South Korea (Challan), Sweden (Triart) and Netherlands (Windmill). Damian’s followup to “Crulic: The Path to Beyond,” “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” is made with a range of styles, from expressionistic sketches to crayon drawings.

Paramount Pictures International has signed a landmark distribution partnership with Italy’s leading independent distribution company Eagle Pictures. Under the deal, Eagle Pictures will release Paramount titles in the country starting in March with John Krasinski’s anticipated horror film “A Quiet Place 2.”

Since 2017, Paramount Pictures has had its films released by Fox in Italy, and prior to that, by Universal. Following the Disney/Fox merger, however, the U.S. studio has been searching for another solid partner among independent distributors in the region.

A number of distribution outfits were considered, including Medusa, Rai, Leone, Notorious and Lucky Red, according to an industry insider.

The timing is auspicious for Eagles Pictures, which has had a banner year. The outfit was Italy’s top distribution company, and the only local player ranking in the B.O.’s top 10, leading with “Green Book.” Eagle was also the only Italian banner to...

On par with 2018, the overseas box office revenue of French movies reached an estimated €244.4 millions ($272 million) from 40 million admissions in 2019, according to a report unveiled by UniFrance.

The org said the worldwide B.O. of French movies was stable and highlighted the large representation of French films at major festivals and across leading streaming services. Italy was once again this year the biggest foreign market for French movies, followed by Germany and Spain.

The mainstream French comedy “Serial (Bad) Weddings,” which already ranks as the highest-grossing films in France in 2019, was also the most successful French movie abroad with nearly €23 million grossed worldwide. Directed by Philippe de Chauveron, the movie follows a narrow-minded Catholic couple and their three daughters, who have married men of different faiths.

Although it failed at the U.S. box office, Luc Besson’s action pic “Anna” still turned out to be the second highest-grossing French film abroad with €22.8 million.

The lack of a blockbuster English-language film from Luc Besson has been cited as a cause.

French cinema generated 40.5m admissions internationally for overall box office receipts of $272.5m (€244.4m), according to provisional figures released by French cinema export agency Unifrance on Thursday.

The figure of 40.5m is in line with last year’s provisional figure of 40m but down 7% on the definitive 2018 figure of 43.7m admissions, which is traditionally published in October. The 2018 performance in turn represented a 50% drop on 2017 when international admissions stood at 82.6m.

The final outcome for 2019 remains to be seen but it is expected to...

The lack of a blockbuster English-language film from Luc Besson has been cited as a cause.

French cinema generated 40.5m admissions internationally for overall box office receipts of $272.5m (€244.4m), according to provisional figures released by French cinema export agency Unifrance on Thursday.

Although final figures will not be confirmed until later this year, this is down 7% on the definitive figure of 43.7m admissions generated by French films around the world in 2018. This in turn represented a 50% fall on the 82.6m international admissions notched up in 2017.

The decline of the last two years is due mainly to the absence of...

Mediawan has come on board two English-language premium scripted series, Brian O’Malley’s steampunk spaghetti Western show “That Dirty Black Bag” and Gilles de Maistre’s “Big Five.”

Aimed at family audiences, “Big Five” will be set in South Africa, and will follow the adventures of Daniah de Villiers, the young actress in “Mia and the White Lion” who will play the lead role.

The half-hour series will be produced by Mai Juin Productions, a Mediawan subsidiary. “Mia and the White Lion” traveled to nearly forty territories and grossed approximately $37 million worldwide.

“That Dirty Black Bag” is being produced by Palomar, the Mediawan-owned Italian shingle behind “The Name of the Rose” and the thriving American banner Bron Studios, whose credits include “Joker.” The series is being developed in three seasons comprising eight-episodes each.

The international casting of “That Dirty Black Bag” is being finalised and production is due to start in May.

Pedro Almodovar’s ’Pain & Glory’ performed well in its home territory.

Total box office receipts in Spain fell slightly by 0.5% to $306.2m in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period the year before.

As in other European territories, cinema-going between April and June was much stronger than the first three months of the year. There were various reasons for this in Spain, including the biannual Fiesta del Cine initiative, held between June 3-5, when audiences were able to buy reduced-price tickets ($3.3) at participating cinemas.

The promotion registered the fourth best result in its 10-year history, a 36.3% increase in...

‘At Eternity’s Gate’, ‘Pain And Glory’ and ‘Capernaum’ performed very strongly.

Box office receipts and admissions both increased by 5% in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 in Italy despite a difficult first three months that tracked 10% down year on year.

A trio of Disney blockbusters – Avengers: Endgame ($33.7m), Aladdin ($16.8m), and Dumbo ($12.6m) – helped make up for earlier high-profile underperformers including Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel ($2.4m), Warner Bros’ The The Lego Movie 2 ($2m), and Vision’s homegrown comedy sequel Bentornato Presidente ($1.6m).

The introduction of Italy’s new cinema law has also started to...

Constantins’s Us teen drama ‘After Passion’ was a surprise hit with young female audiences.

Cinema-going in Germany saw a slight year-on-year recovery in box-office takings and admissions for the first half of 2019 with admissions rising by 6% and ticket revenues by 5.6%, according to provisional figures collated by ComScore.

In the same period in 2018 German exhibitors had been faced with an almost 17% year-on-year drop in box office and admissions, and 2018 had ended with overall attendance sliding by 13.9% to 105.5 million admissions, the lowest level since German reunification in 1990. Gross box office receipts failed to pass the €1bn threshold for the first time...

Aton Soumache’s On Entertainment (“Playmobil”) is allying with Joann Sfar, the revered French comicbook artist and filmmaker, on an ambitious live action mini-series inspired by French aviator and author Antoine de Saint Exupery’s 1943 philosophical and self-reflective parable “The Little Prince.”

The project, which is still at an early development stage, is being conceived as five mini-movies filled with fantasy and adventures which will mix live action and CGI in the veins of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Jungle Book,” Soumache told Variety.

On Entertainment, which is now part of Mediawan, bought a majority stake in Sfar’s company Nice Pictures, and will soon unveil its rebranding along with a slate of high-profile series and film projects.

Sfar said “The Little Prince” has played a meaningful role in his career. His 2008 adaptation of “The Little Prince” became a New York Times bestseller and allowed him to break through internationally.

Studiocanal has boarded Gilles de Maistre’s family adventure film “The Wolf and the Lion,” his follow-up to “Mia and the White Lion,” which has so far been released in 36 territories around the world and has grossed more than $31 million outside of France.

“The Wolf and the Lion,” which is produced by Mediawan-owned Mai Juin Productions and Galatée Films, and co-produced with Studiocanal, started shooting on location in Canada and will be filming for a year to capture the growth of the animals portrayed in the film.

“The Wolf and the Lion” will star Molly Kunz (“Widows”) and Oscar-nominated Graham Greene (“Dances With Wolves”), alongside several animal who will be tended to on set by Andrew Simpson, a renowned animal trainer who previously worked on “Game of Thrones” and “The Revenant.”

The film reunites de Maistre with his team on “Mia and the White Lion,” including screenwriter Prune de Maistre,...

After having been successfully adapted into a pair of live-action movies, “Le Petit Nicolas,” based on the popular series of French children’s books from the ’60s, will be back on the big screen in an hand-drawn animated feature directed by Gilles de Maistre (“Mia and the White Lion”) and Amandine Fredon.

“Le Petit Nicolas, une enfance rêvée” is being produced by French animation powerhouse On Entertainment (“The Little Prince”), in co-production with Foliascope (“The Tower”), Luxembourg outfit Bidibul Productions (“A Cat in Paris”) and Canada’s Kaibou. Charades, the banner behind the Oscar-nominated “Mirai,” is handling international sales and will introduce the project (currently in pre-production) to buyers at Cannes.

“Little Nicholas” marks the first 2D animated feature undertaken by Aton Soumache at On Entertainment, whose credits include the Cannes-premiering, BAFTA-nominated “The Little Prince” and the upcoming “Playmobil: The Movie.” Foliascope is the company launched by animation veteran Pascal Le Notre,...

Director Gilles de Maistre had good intentions at heart bringing an animal activist message to the mainstream with “Mia and the White Lion.” The craft and care it took to capture a portrait of a headstrong young girl and her unconventional friendship with a white lion is astounding, considering the filming spanned a few years so the actress could authentically bond with the animal. This sweetly sentimental feature — aimed squarely at the family demographic, particularly those with small children — will assuredly connect with animal lovers, with one big caveat: There’s a whiplash-inducing reveal that could prove traumatic to some of those same folks.

Ten-year-old Mia Owen (Daniah De Villiers) has recently moved from London to South Africa and is struggling with lots of complicated feelings. Her frustration and angst over this sudden lifestyle change has prevented her from fitting in at her new school, as she gets in fights with classmates and teachers alike.

South African zookeeper Kevin Richardson works primarily with lions and now serves as producer on a new film called Mia and the White Lion. The 44-year-old, who is also known as “The Lion Whisperer,” sat down with uInterview exclusively to discuss his work on the film. “The full project was a long time in the making,” Richardson revealed. […]...

"I'm going to get you to somewhere safe... and then you'll be free." A new official Us trailer has debuted for the charming adventure Mia and the White Lion, which was first released last year in France under the title Mia et le lion blanc - since it's made by a French filmmaker, though the dialogue is mostly in English. The story is about a young girl from London who moves to Africa with her parents where she befriends a white lion cub. After the lion grows up, she decides to set out on a journey across the South African savanna in search of another land where Charlie can live out his life in freedom. Daniah De Villiers stars as Mia, with a full cast including Mélanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Ryan Mac Lennan, Lionel Newton, Lillian Dube, and Brandon Auret. This was shot at the Welgedacht Reserve in South Africa,...

Studiocanal has sold near all of the world outside the U.S. on Hugo Gélin’s “Love at Second Sight.” The European production-distribution-sales giant, part of Vivendi’s Canal Plus Group, has also kicked off promising sales on a panoply of new foreign-language titles, such as Yvan Attal’s “My Dog Stupid,” Cedric Klapisch’s “Someone Somewhere” and animated feature “Samsam.”

“Our mission at Studiocanal is to ensure we make high-quality European cinema with strong global potential,” said Anna Marsh, Studiocanal Evp, international distribution.

Described by Marsh as a “key title, a high concept movie which really appeals.” “Love at Second Sight” stars François Civil as a young best-selling novelist who forgets the love of his life in one world to wake up in another where she’s a world-famous pianist who’s never met him.

Combining large ambition, a questioning take on gender equality in relationships, and a director whose 2017 debut,...

In today’s film news roundup, a film about a white lion named Charlie is getting a U.S. release, 3 Arts makes a key hire and Gravitas buys the documentary “Mosul.”

Release Date

Ledafilms Entertainment Group has set an April 12 release for the family adventure film, “Mia and the White Lion,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Shot over the course of three years, the film centers on a willful young girl named Mia whose family decides to leave London to manage a lion farm in South Africa. She bonds with a white lion cub named Charlie but become distraught by the thought that he could be in harm and sets out on a journey across the South African savanna in search of another land where Charlie can live out his life in freedom.

French director Gilles De Maistre shot the film at the Welgedacht Reserve in South Africa. The film...

Italy was the biggest market for French films.

The international box office for French films fell 52% to 40m admissions worldwide in 2018, against 82.5m in 2017, according to figures released by Unifrance on Thursday (January 17).

French cinema export body published the preliminary data at its annual press conference, this year taking place at the Ministry of Culture, on the fringes of its annual Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris (January 17-21).

According to the Unifrance numbers, the admissions generated a box office of €237m against €468m the year before. The figures were similar to those of 2016 when there were 34m admissions worldwide.

Sony’s “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” starring Claire Foy as avenging heroine Lisbeth Salander, is set to world-premiere at the Rome Film Festival, which announced a strong lineup Friday mixing crowd-pleasers with esoteric titles. The festival also boasts an impressive roster of speakers who will hold onstage conversations, including Martin Scorsese, Sigourney Weaver and Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux.

Foy, who takes over the role previously played by Noomi Rapace in the “Millennium” saga by late author Stieg Larsson, is expected to make an appearance on Rome’s red carpet, along with several key cast members, including Sverrir Gudnason, Sylvia Hoeks, and director Fede Alvarez. The movie is based on the novel by David Lagercrantz, who continued Larsson’s “Millennium” series.

Sony has set a Nov. 9 U.S. release date for “Spider’s Web,” preceded by an international roll-out beginning this month. The date of the Rome...