The turn from summer into fall brings with it a series of high-profile film festivals that have played a critical role in shaping Hollywood’s awards season. The most notable among them are the Telluride Film Festival from August 30-September 2, the Venice International Film Festival from August 28-September 7, and the Toronto International Film Festival from September 5-15.
Admittedly, these festival’s awards-making magic has not played out over the past three years with the Best Picture Oscar winners being OPPENHEIMER in 2023, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE in 2022, and CODA in 2022. Still, many look to these three festivals to gauge what movies are likely to be up for awards consideration, as well as the upcoming commercial hits of the fall and holiday season.
This year’s Venice Film Festival featured both major commercial films and awards hopefuls. The reaction to BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE was mostly positive, contributing to the buzz leading up to this weekend’s release. The other major studio release premiering at this year’s Venice was JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX, which received a so-so response from reviewers. However, the original JOKER from 2019 also premiered in Venice and received a mixed response from critics.
Therefore, it seems unlikely that a tepid review for JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX will have any significant impact on its eventual box office results. THE BRUTALIST was a significant awards contender to emerge from this year’s Venice, with its writer and director Brady Corbet winning the festival’s Best Director award.
This week’s other major festival was the Telluride Film Festival, held in the picturesque Colorado town. It also included a mixture of commercial and awards-candidate films. Ivan Reitman directed SATURDAY NIGHT, a fictional retelling of the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Live.
The film was described as “playing very well” with festival attendees and will have a wide theatrical release starting on October 11. It could even make it into awards contention, indicated by its strongly positive response at the festival. A number of the other notable films to play at this year’s Telluride include ANORA, EMILIA PEREZ, CONCLAVE, NIGHTBITCH, NICKEL BOYS, and SEPTEMBER 5.
