A24 is crashing the Oscar race this Fall by acquiring the U.S. distribution rights for Brady Corbet’s American epic, The Brutalist (2024). The news follows its Silver Lion win at the 81st Venice Film Festival.
Starring Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones, the film is a three-and-a-half-hour epic that follows Brody as Hungarian-born, Jewish architect, László Tóth, who emigrates to America following the aftermath of WWII, and begins a 30-year journey as he hopes to fulfill his American dream under the struggles of starting a new life.
Following its 12-minute standing ovation at its Venice premiere, multiple parties were bidding on the film. According to Variety, CAA Media Finance brokered the deal with A24, just under $10 million. No official U.S. release date has been announced after A24 tweeted, “Coming soon” following the news. Focus Features is handling the International distribution side of the film.
The Rolling Tape’s very own Danny Jarabek reported after its Toronto screening, “The Brutalist is a rare brand of filmmaking that requires a holistic, all-consuming effort to match its ambitions. Corbet and Company are up to the task in what is an instant landmark in the upper echelon of artistic pursuits.”
With Best Picture wins for Moonlight (2016) and Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), it’s clear A24 is betting hard on Corbet’s immigrant meditation of post-war America and the cost of the American dream as their racehorse, as many awards pundits believe the film is an across-the-board Oscar contender. This is on top of their acquisition of Luca Guadagnino’s Queer (2024) at the beginning of the Venice festival and the limited release of Sing Sing (2024), as they shore up their awards slate.
It’s an incredible sign of reassurance that a 215-minute film can be championed by one of the strongest distributors in the game.
Update Courtesy of Amritpal Rai
Feature Image from Variety