NEON has picked up yet another 2024 festival award-winner for distribution. Variety reports that the independent distribution company has a deal ready to pick up Mike Flanagan‘s “The Life Of Chuck,” which just won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF earlier this month. No word yet if TIFF will get Flanagan’s latest in theaters in time for awards season, but it’s likely they’ll wait to release it next summer.
“The Life Of Chuck” is another shrewd pick up for a company that’s steadily put themselves on the map of theatrical distribution over the past five years. NEON’s savviness has resulted in them grabbing the rights to five straight Palme d’Or winners, including the 2024 Cannes winner, Sean Baker‘s “Anora,” in theaters on October 18. The company’s rise as a distribution powerhouse arguably began when they swooped in on Bong Joon-ho‘s “Parasite” at Cannes 2019, which went on to win four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. “Parasite” remains NEON’s highest-grossing film at $262.1 million; that’s a huge step up from their first distributed film, 2017’s “Colossal,” which only made back a third of its budget in theaters.
But is “The Life Of Chuck” something that will vie for anything this coming awards season? Flanagan’s new film got high marks from critics out of Toronto, but it’s more likely NEON sees the movie as another chance for them to expand their brand on the 2025 calendar. Based on Stephen King‘s 2020 short novel, “The Life Of Chuck” stars Tom Hiddleston in a story similar in tone to King’s “Stand By Me” and “The Shawshank Redemption“; less overt horror, more sentimental insights on the human condition, complete with extended dance sequences from Hiddleston. Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay also star in the upcoming film.
“I had to do all of these technical dances, none of which I have any training in,” Hiddleston told Variety in Toronto earlier this month. “There are some that came more easily than others. I found I love dancing jazz and swing. Bossa nova is a technical thing that took my hips a minute to get my head around. Polka is like a 100-meter sprint. It feels like a gallop.”
“The Life Of Chuck” isn’t the only festival favorite NEON picked up for distribution in 2024. Baker’s “Anora” is their crown jewel, but NEON also landed Mohammad Rasoulof‘s “The Seed Of The Sacred Fig,” which many predicted to win Cannes’ top prize this year. Elsewhere on their summer calendar, NEON won big with “Longlegs” and “Cuckoo,” with Oz Perkins‘ serial killer pic raking in over $100 million worldwide. As for “Cuckoo,” Tilman Singer’s sophomore feature didn’t do as well financially but got solid marks from critics. Other upcoming releases from NEON include Joshua Oppenheimer‘s “The End,” Steven Soderbergh‘s Presence,” and Perkins’ “The Monkey.”
Stay tuned for an official theatrical release date for “The Life Of Chuck,” which NEON will undoubtedly have as a centerpiece for their 2025 calendar. But a bigger question looms: what buzzy film will NEON pick up next?
