Distributor Neon Poised to Regain Its Glow Thanks to Strikes

When the 2019 film Parasite capped its Oscar-winning theatrical run, its $53 million domestic haul wasnt just a record for upstart distributor Neon but better than anything than rival A24 had achieved at the time.

Then the pandemic hit.

A24 has more than bounced back since theaters shut down in 2020 thanks to the commercial and critical success of 2022s Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won best picture at the Oscars and earned $77 million domestically as part of a near-$150 million global haul.

As for Neon its theatrical earnings couldnt be further behind.

At just $7 million domestically, Kristen Stewart vehicle Spencer represents the best a film from Neon has done since U.S. theaters bounced back, as one of the few titles the studio has been willing to give a wide release. But even then, that $7 million may have been lucky, as the films 2021 Thanksgiving window was before major studios committed to more exclusive theatrical releases in the wake of the massive success ofSpider-Man: No Way Home the following December.

Its not that Neon hasnt tried to reclaim its former glory. As it originally did with Parasite, Neon has managed to acquire every single Palme dOr winner at Cannes since the festival resumed in 2021. Meanwhile, A24s 2023 Sundance buy, Talk to Me, earned almost $50 million at the box office this summer, as the debut film from a pair of Australian YouTube creators.

Neons dedication to seizing on each Cannes winner is starting to feel like a detriment to itself, especially when the box office for 2022s Triangle of Sadness was surpassed by the likes of Brandon Cronenbergs horror film Infinity Pool the following winter. Given that Infinity Pool never played the festival circuit, it was yet another sign of prestige films shrinking relevance in the theatrical market.

However, Neons slate of theatrical films for the rest of the year shows some promise.

Like 2021 Palme dOr winner Titane, 2023 winner Anatomy of a Fall is another French movie that could struggle to attract interest at the cinema, but other films dotting Neons 2023 slate arent as fixated on arthouse prestige.

Plus, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has freed up space in the calendar. Major studios in the AMPTP continue to pull films, such as Sonys Marvel effort Kraven the Hunter, which vacated the first weekend of October for a 2024 date earlier this year. Thats good news for Neons next film, It Lives Inside, a horror-thriller not unlike Talk to Me that was acquired at South by Southwest this year. Then Neon will release psychological thriller The Royal Hotel at the start of October, following the films festival premieres at Telluride and TIFF earlier in September.

Anatomy of a Fall goes the following weekend, but with TIFF ongoing through Sept. 18, Neon still has the chance to acquire at least one more film it can add to the calendar in subsequent weekends. It does not have anything dated for the rest of October or November, though buzzy Venice acquisition Origin, a new Ava DuVernay film rife with social commentary, would make sense in the latter month.

December is when Neon makes it biggest bet in a long while with Michael Manns Ferrari, which stars Adam Driver as the titular racing icon and premiered at Venice to positive reviews, though not unanimously. 20th Century previously released Ford v. Ferrari in 2019 to a modest box-office turnout, but Drivers performance as another Italian icon in 2021s House of Gucci saw the film perform fairly well in theaters, which could improve the chances for Ferrari.

When Ferrari was auctioned off by STX Entertainment over the summer, Neon successfully outbid the likes of A24 for U.S. rights. The agreements sum wasnt disclosed, but given the films $90 million budget and A24s status in the non-major studio market, it couldnt have been cheap. Likewise, A24s most expensive film to date and box-office bomb Beau Is Afraid cost $35 million, making it possible that Neon will have ultimately gone overboard in trying to balance out its arthouse affair with a potential blockbuster biopic.

With as many as 50 unacquired films at TIFF spanning all genres, it might not have even been necessary to spring for Ferrari. But when Neons last TIFF buy, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, made under $1 million at the box office this year, such a gamble by the distributor might be exactly what it needs to try.