“Cliffhanger,” a reimagining of the Sylvester Stallone climbing thriller starring Lily James and Pierce Brosnan, is shoring up a new strategy for its theatrical release, multiple insiders told Variety.
The fate of the film, helmed by action director Jaume Collet-Sera (“Carry On”), has been a lingering question in the industry since March. That’s when its upstart distributor Row K saw the exit of top creative executives and speculation about money trouble after only eight months of operation.
The Row K team has been working closely with CAA Media Finance, the packager and sales agent on the IP for almost a decade, to find a strategy that guarantees maximum return. They may have found it with Tom Quinn’s Neon – per four sources – who would handle the domestic release of “Cliffhanger” through its sub-label Decal. The project will likely move from its scheduled Aug 28. wide release. Should the deal close, which is still a maybe, Decal would also handle ancillary business for the film (Rocket Science is handling foreign sales and serves as co-producer).
Decal is run by executive Andrew Brown, and was originally conceived as a joint home entertainment venture between Neon and fellow indie releaser Bleecker Street. Brown joined Neon as president of digital distribution in 2022, and has handled releases for many films outside of the in-house slate since.
