On Sunday, the 2025 Sundance Film Festival will wrap up after 11 days of movie screenings and networking in the chic mountain village of Park City, Utah. This year’s edition played out at a slower pace than in previous years, with a decline in in-person attendance and fewer high-price distribution deals.
Some pointed to the depressive impact of the recent Los Angeles wildfires. Others blamed the lingering aftereffects of the production slowdowns caused by the 2023 labor strikes. Buyers were also weighing the spotty track record of specialty films in recent years, both at the box office and for awards consideration. These disappointments include several high-profile Sundance acquisitions.
Nonetheless, several notable deals were struck at Sundance. NEON committed an estimated $15 – $17 million to acquire the worldwide distribution rights for TOGETHER. In this horror film, Dave Franco and Alison Brie play a couple who experience a supernatural encounter while traveling in the countryside. TOGETHER’s production budget was a restrained $10 million, and it has been scheduled for an August 1st release to theatres.
Netflix acquired the historical drama TRAIN DREAMS for an amount in the “high teens” of millions, according to Deadline. The film stars Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones and is based on the 2011 novella from Denis Johnson about a laborer in the American West during the early 20th Century who struggles to overcome the death of his family. The film sparked positive reviews at its Sundance premiere and is seen as a potential awards candidate.
Deals such as TOGETHER and TRAIN DREAMS are representative of the types of films acquired at Sundance these days, budget horror films, and potential awards candidates. Aside from these two tracks, studios appear to be looking elsewhere to fill their slates.