International buyers are angry about it He hopes.
Na Hong-Jin’s brutal sci-fi thriller, one of the highlights of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has sold out worldwide, securing pre-sale deals in 200 territories around the world.
The studio’s Focus Features and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions divisions have picked up the film in select international territories, with Focus, along with UPI France, acquiring the rights for France, Benelux and South Africa. The SPWA takes in Portugal, Scandinavia, Iceland, Israel and the Middle East.
Other major international regional deals include Japan’s Gaga, CIS’s The World Pictures, Eastern Europe’s Unicorn Media and India’s Star Ent. Neon acquired He hopes For North America, the UK and Australia before Cannes, Mubi has pre-purchased multiple territories, including Germany, Spain, Italy and Latin America.
Plus M Entertainment, which is handling global sales for the game, said of pre-sale deals for He hopes They set an all-time record for the Korean title, noting that the film had already recouped “nearly half” of its net production budget before hitting theaters. For a number of distributors, He hopes It is the first Korean film acquisition ever.
Hope follows Bum Seok (Wailing Star Hwang Jung-min), the police chief of the small town of Hope Harbor, a South Korean outpost located near the Demilitarized Zone, is under attack by strange, otherworldly creatures. Zo In-sung and Hoyeon co-star, with appearances by Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell.
The film was a critical acclaim and a critical favorite at Cannes. Hollywood ReporterLeading film critic David Rooney described it as a “buzzing sci-fi thriller” with a “cult classic written all over it”.
International buyers are clearly hoping for a money maker, although the original film’s length, at 2 hours and 40 minutes, may make it a programming challenge for some distributors. Na Hong-Jin is setting up the film as the first in a potential franchise.
He hopes It is scheduled to be released in Korea this summer, followed by a North American release in the fall and subsequent releases worldwide.
