International buyers are mad for Hope.
Na Hong-Jin’s sci-fi monster movie, a highlight of the Cannes Film Festival this year, has all but sold out worldwide, securing pre-sale deals in 200 territories worldwide.
Studio divisions Focus Features and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions picked up the film for select international territories, with Focus, together with UPI France, acquiring rights for France, Benelux and South Africa; and SPWA taking Portugal, Scandinavia, Iceland, Israel and the Middle East.
Other major international territorial deals include with Japan’s Gaga, CIS’ The World Pictures, Eastern Europe’s Unicorn Media and India’s Star Ent. Neon acquired Hope for North America, the U.K. and Australia ahead of Cannes and Mubi pre-bought multiple territories, including Germany, Spain, Italy and Latin America.
Plus M Entertainment, which is handling worldwide sales on the title, said the pre-sales deals for Hope have set an all-time record for a Korean title, noting the film has already recouped “nearly half” of its net production budget before theatrical release. For several of the distributors, Hope is their first-ever Korean film acquisition.
