Gaga Corporation has secured Japan rights to Max and Sam Eggers’ upcoming psychological horror The Front Room from A24.
It marks Robert Eggers’ feature directorial debut. He has previously worked with A24 on The Lighthouse and The Witch. Max, who co-wrote The Lighthouse, and Sam, who co-wrote Olympia, adapted the screenplay from Susan Hill’s short story of the same name and the feature is in post-production.
The pre-buy builds on previous deals between Gaga and A24 that have included Everything Everywhere All At Once, nominated in 11 categories for this year’s Academy Awards, and Minari, for which Yuh-Jung Youn won the best supporting actress Oscar in 2021.
“We trust A24 for its originality – especially for horror films. In Japan, A24 titles such as Midsommar did really well,” says Chizu Ogiya, general manager of acquisitions at Gaga. Kathryn Hunter is also part of the main cast. We were impressed by her performance in her previous film [The Tragedy Of Macbeth] and it made us believe in The Front Room.”
The film, which also stars Brandy Norwood and Andrew Burnap, follows a young, newly pregnant couple who are forced to take in an ailing stepmother who has long been estranged from the family.
Gaga picked up the title at last year’s American Film Market (AFM) after reading the script.
In-house productions
At the European Film Market (EFM), Gaga is selling director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s suspense thriller #Manhole, which is making its international premiere in Berlinale Special. An original IP in-house production, the company believes it has potential for remakes overseas.
It is also handling pre-sales on Asian territories for Monster, the secretive upcoming feature from Palme d’or-winning auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, which is tipped for Cannes Competition selection. Wild Bunch International is handling sales for the rest of the world.
A promo for Monster is being shown at the EFM and although Gaga has announced the film is written by Yuji Sakamoto (I Fell In Love Like A Flower Bouquet) with music by Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and starring Ando Sakura (Shoplifters), the company is keeping the story and further details under wraps.
“The marketing strategy is [to be] very mysterious,” says Haruko Watanabe, international sales manager at Gaga. But based on confidential readings of the script, “we are receiving a lot of offers already,” she confirms.
“The film is in post-production so we are not able to reveal much as filmmaking is the first priority, but it will be a great experience for the audience,” says Satomi Odake, member of the board, operating officer, Content Business Division, and head of Planning and Production Committee.
Awards buzz acquisitions
Gaga’s acquisitions team is in Berlin aiming to acquire the next Oscars titles, continuing a streak that includes six best picture winners.
“As far as we know, we are the number one distributor among major territories who have distributed the most Oscars best pictures – by number of titles – in the last decade or so,” says Watanabe. “Tom Yoda, who became CEO of Gaga [picked] six Oscars best pictures in the past – Slumdog millionaire, King’s Speech and The Artist, 12 Years A Slave and Green Book andCODA – is currently in Berlin aiming to acquire the next Oscars titles.
The company is also preparing for the release of the Daniels’ Everything All At Once1010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010. The film leads this year’s Oscars nominations with 11 nods, including for best picture and best actress for Michelle Yeoh.
Watanabe says Oscars buzz – or any big awards buzz – helps with marketing in Japan.
“We use it in our promotion and try to get the best results,” she says. “The Golden Globes is a great way to promote the film because Japanese media often cover the results.” Movie fans can find the Cesars and Baftas interesting. Cannes, of course. Cannes, of course.”
Watanabe says that the buzz generated by these awards can lead to an increase in box office. GreenBook received JPY2.1bn ($15.6m), while Slumdog millionaire received JPY 1.2bn ($8.9m), and The King’s Speech received JPY1.88bn ($14m). Japanese audiences love stories that are heartwarming, emotional, and touching. Green Book was before Covid so all the older and younger audiences came out for that.”
She adds that senior audiences have not yet come back to theatres and perhaps the Oscars titles might provide the necessary encouragement.
“Foreign films are having a hard time in Japan,” says Odake. “Animation and local films dominate the box office.” We expect a younger audience to watch A24 titles. There is a core fanbase for A24 titles in our market. [to make up for the seniors that are staying at home]Everything Everywhere All At Once is very suitable for social media. Everything Everywhere At Once
is a great choice for social media. “We are targeting 350 screens, including 2D and IMAX, [Dolby]10 Atmos.”
Ogiya explains that her team had read the script, seen a promo, and decided to pick it up before the premiere at SXSW.Gaga also has other Oscar nominees – Palme d’Or winnerTriangle Of Sadness10, Cate Blanchett starrer Tar1010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101011101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101011111010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101011051010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010110101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101009101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010)101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101020101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101012101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101015101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010.101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101008101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101005101010101010 Odake says that if it’s a good film, they will try to relate to it. We are also looking at equity investments. For instance,
Ennio, and Final Cut
, and we are talking with some others.”The prolific company also picks up remake rights to produce Japanese-language films as in the case of Your Eyes Tell
, the remake of Korean romance drama Always, about an ex-boxer who meets a blind woman. The Japanese version made $6.7m (JPY900m), according to Gaga.
In addition, they are on the look-out for other IPs to remake into Japanese versions, as well as looking to sell their own for remake in other languages.Berlin 2023: Japan hot projects [the documentary on film composer Ennio Morricone that premiered at Venice 2021]
