Will a promising acquisition slate overcome post-strike anxiety and mixed box office results?

The throngs of film sellers and buyers are still pouring into Toronto from Venice and Telluride, but the buying scene took a turn last night with the premiere of Nutcracker.

David Gordon Green took a step back to present the film starring Ben Stiller, which enjoyed huge success with audiences at two opening screenings yesterday.

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These kinds of films — promising premise with stars and directors with proven track records — are everywhere on the schedule. There’s a lot to like about this TIFF 2024 acquisitions market. But I just returned from a visit to Los Angeles, and I don’t recall such a grim hangover from the two strikes last year. The business will need time to recover, and that caution could affect dealmaking. Distributors are also thinking about how elusive the box office has become. Comparable films to those being sold here, such as Take me to the moon, blink twice AND Borderland they had stars and quality, but they failed.

Since the pandemic, the pace of dealmaking at TIFF has been glacial: buyers have avoided all-night auctions but have preferred to watch all the films in the first weekend and then partner up to complete their slate.

On the other hand, I don’t remember many movies with such a large cast of stars. Then there are the losers, like Anderson.Paak K-pop. The film marks the Grammy winner’s directorial debut. He and his son (Soul Rasheed) play the lead roles, and there’s also the attraction of Paak and the global popularity of K-pop groups in general. Then there’s EdenRon Howard’s all-star survival story. How often does a Ron Howard film appear at a film festival as a title to purchase? Another potential hidden sale is Sketchcrazy story about a young girl’s peculiar drawings that come to life. Add to that the movies that buyers watched in Telluride or Venice, which caused positive emotions. There is September 5thhow the ABC Sports crew in Munich, covering the 1972 Olympics, suddenly became chroniclers of the kidnapping of the Israeli Olympic team by terrorists. And Friendwhere many in Telluride could pet the movie’s star, Bing, a giant Great Dane. There is also Brutalityone of those films that received a long standing ovation in Telluride, where the audience must have blisters because so many of these films elicited applause that lasted up to 17 minutes. The premiere in Telluride was Let’s not go to the dogs todaythe directorial debut of Embeth Davidtz, who we know from her acting career, stars in Schindler’s List, Matildaand others.

I think it will be a festival of opportunities, but it may be a few weeks before we can do a meaningful count. Here are the titles that buyers and sellers mention to me most often:

Toronto Hot List 2024

BRUTALICIST – Directed by Brady Corbet; starring Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn. Oscar winner Brody is expected to return to awards season for his role as a Jewish Hungarian architect who flees Europe after World War II and tries to put his life back together. Tuesday, TIFF Lightbox 8PM.

LET’S NOT GO TO THE DOG SHOW TONIGHT – Directed by Embeth Davitz; Cast by Davidtz. An exploration of the decline of colonialism as Rhodesia approaches the 1980 elections and the end of white rule.

EDEN – Director Ron Howard; Cast: Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Bruhl, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas. A survival story of Europeans arriving on the uninhabited Galapagos Islands for various purposes that ends in a Lord of the Flies-style battle for survival. Saturday Roy Thomson Hall 5:45PM.

FRIEND – Directors Scott McGehee, David Siegel; cast: Billy Murray, Naomi Watts, Bing. Murray plays a famous writer who, after his death, entrusts his protégé and former lover (Naomi Watts) to adopt his giant dog, even though she hates dogs and lives in a rent-controlled Manhattan apartment where dogs are not allowed. Sunday, Scotiabank Theater P&I 12:30 PM; Tuesday Roy Thomson Hall 9:30 PM.

LAST GIRL IN THE COMPETITION — Gia Coppola; cast: Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista. The girls of Las Vegas for 30 years must prepare for a different future as the show prepares to close, and that’s not an easy transition when the ladies are 50 instead of 20. Today, 3:00 PM Princess of Wales.

CUT – Directed by Sean Ellis; Starring: Orlando Bloom, Orlando Bloom, Caitriona Balfe. A boxer who retired after suffering a devastating cut in the ring returns under the brutal guidance of his trainer. About the physical and existential wounds that won’t heal. Today, Scotiabank 5:45PM.

Orlando Bloom in The Cut — Orlando Bloom in “The Cut”

COATING – Directed by: Max Minghella; Starring: Kate Hudson, Elisabeth Moss. A black comedy about society’s obsession with youth and good looks. Sunday, Scotiabank Theatre 8:45AM.

DEB- Director, Rebel Wilson; cast: Charlotte MacInnes. The picture is notorious for Wilson’s very public feud with her producers, but insiders say it’s a real film, a musical about the town’s annual debutante ball, which has satirical connotations.

K-POPS – Director: Anderson .Paak; Cast: Paak, Soul Rasheed. A desperate drummer looking to revive his career accidentally meets an aspiring boy band singer in South Korea who turns out to be the son he never knew he had. Saturday, Princess of Wales 3:00 PM

CHUCK’S LIFE – Directed by: Mike Flanagan; Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hiddelston, Karen Gillan. An adaptation of the Stephen King novella that is a departure from typical genre territory for the author and director. An ordinary accountant’s life falls apart. Today is Princess of Wales, 6PM.

NUTCRACKERS – Director: David Gordon Green; Cast: Ben Stiller, Linda Cardellini. A Chicago developer becomes an instant parent to his dead sister’s children. They conspire to put on a show. Premiere film. Next showing September 11 P&I 9:30 AM.

FRIENDSHIP – Director: Andrew DeYoung; Cast: Paul Rudd, Tim Robinson. A suburban dad obsessively seeks out companionship with his charming neighbor. Sunday, Royal Alexandra Theatre, 11:59 p.m.

RELAY – Directed by: David Mackenzie; Starring: Lily James, Riz Ahmed. A thriller about a lonely whistleblower broker trying to settle deals with corporate villains. Sunday, Princess of Wales 3PM.

RATE – Director: Fleur Fortune; Cast: Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Olsen, Himesh Patel. The government controls who can and cannot have children, and a couple undergoes a grueling process of physical and psychological testing in order to pass the test and become parents. Sunday, Princess of Wales 6:15 PM.

ON FAST HORSES – Directed by Daniel Minahan; starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva. A 1950s tale of a newlywed and his brother-in-law who embark on parallel journeys of risk, romance, and self-discovery. Saturday, Princess of Wales 6:15 p.m.

SKETCH – Directed by Seth Worley; Starring: Tony Hale, Kue Lawrence, Bianca Belle. A child’s quirky drawings come to life, challenging her parents in a fun, competitive game to movies like Gremlins, Goonies AND Jumanji. Saturday TIFF Lightbox 12:00.

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