Lois Patiño, Belén Funes, Pablo Hernando Make the Cut at Madrid Film School’s First Co-Pro Showcase ECAM Forum (EXCLUSIVE)URL: ECAM, Lois Patiño, Pablo Hernando, Belén Funes

It’s not all doom and gloom at the global box office as a handful of films reached milestones this week. 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has topped $300M worldwide, while Paramount’s IF and Sony/Alcon’s The Garfield Movie crossed the $100M mark.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Match Factory has finalized global sales for the Cannes competition title “The Substance,” directed by Coralie Fargeat and starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. The Match Factory has sold to Italy (I Wonder Pictures), Spain (Elastica Films), Scandinavia (Nonstop Entertainment), South Korea (Challan), Hong Kong (Golden Scene Company), CIS (VLG.FILM LTD.), Ukraine and Baltics (Adastra Cinema), Taiwan (Catchplay), Australia and New Zealand (Madman Entertainment), Poland (Monolith), Greece (Feelgood Entertainment), the former Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), Bulgaria (Beta Film) and Romania (Independenta Film 97).

The Match Factory has finalized a raft of international deals for Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes Palme d’Or contender The Substance, following its buzzy premiere over the weekend in the presence of co-stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid.

Maryam Touzani, whose latest movie “The Blue Caftan” won a flurry of awards and was shortlisted in the Oscar’s international feature race, is set to make her Spanish-language debut with “Calle Malaga.” Jean-Christophe Simon‘s Films Boutique will handle International sales on the project. “Calle Malaga” reteams Touzani and Films Boutique for the third time, having previously collaborated on arthouse hits “Adam” and “The Blue Caftan.” A character-driven film written by Touzani, “Calle Malaga” revolves around Maria Angeles, a 74-year old woman who belongs to the Spanish community of Tangier and enjoys the quietness of her life in the colorful Moroccan costal town.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In 2009, nine production companies were operating in the Canary Islands using ZEC preferential tax rates for being established here. Flash forward 15 years, there are now 31 companies doing live action.

Jamie Lang Barcelona-based production, sales, and distribution company Filmax has secured global sales rights to the upcoming kids and family animated feature “The Treasure of Barracuda,” and is presenting the film to potential buyers at the Marché du Film. Having pitched at several international animation project events, “The Treasure of Barracuda” is one of the buzziest Spanish titles on the market right now. Just last year, the production received €500,000 ($545,700) in financial backing from the 2023 Eurimages Project Evaluation Sessions.

Refresh for latest…:  After starting early offshore release on John Krasinski’s IF last weekend, Paramount expanded the imaginary friends film to another 56 international box office markets this session. The overseas frame was worth $20M, bringing the international running cume to $24M. With domestic’s $35M debut, the worldwide total is now $59M.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed the first international sales for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” ahead of its world premiere on Friday in the Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival. The film has been acquired in Italy by BiM Distribuzione and Lucky Red, Benelux by September Film Distribution, Spain by Bteam Pictures, Greece by Ama Films, Hungary by Cirko Film, Norway by Selmer Media, Portugal by Leopardo Filmes, Taiwan by Hooray Films and Turkey by Bir Film.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Manila-based production outfit Parallax Studio and entertainment company Saga Film Studios have formed a joint venture that will distribute the two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” in the Philippines. The deal is the first of a number of acquisitions planned by the joint venture. The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner.

EXCLUSIVE: Whitney Peak (Hocus Pocus 2, Molly’s Game, Gossip Girl) has been cast in Aisling Walsh’s Ethel, alongside the previously announced cast of Shira Haas and Sarah Paulson. Bankside Films first launched the title, which is currently in pre-production, earlier this year and has completed a number of international pre-sales in Cannes. 

Jamie Lang Spanish sales, distribution, and production company Filmax has picked up international rights to the upcoming kids and family animated feature “The Light of Aisha” and is sharing the project with buyers at this year’s Marché du Film. The CG-animated film tells the story of Aisha, a young girl living in XI-century Al-Andalus in the south of modern-day Spain.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Chile’s Quijote Films, behind Cannes 2023 Un Certain Regard Fipresci Prize winner “The Settlers,” has tied down a powerful alliance of international partners on “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” the first feature of 2018 Cannes Cinéfondation top winner Diego Céspedes. An LGBTQ-themed drama, “The Mysterious Gaze” is set in a mining town where a strange illness is said to be transmitted between men who fall in love with each other.

Jamie Lang International sales and distribution outfit Pink Parrot Media has closed several key deals for Doce Entertainment and Mr. Miyagi Films’ animated kids and family feature “Hanna and the Monsters.” Agreements have been made with World Visions for CIS, Boxoo for South Korea, Front Row for the Middle East, GPI for the Baltics, Cinetel for Hungary, Wediacorp for Turkey and Movie Company for Benelux.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Principal photography has begun on “The Captive,” a historical epic from “The Others’” Alejandro Amenábar, starring Julio Peña (“Berlin”) as “Don Quixote” author Miguel de Cervantes, a prisoner of Ottoman corsairs, seen in a very first still from the film, alongside Alessandro Borghi (“Suburra”), playing his captor, which has been shared in exclusivity with Variety. Paris and London-based production, finance and sales house Film Constellation handles worldwide sales.

Jamie Lang Spanish public broadcaster RTVE held its fifth annual RTVE Showcase late last week in Madrid. Eight of the network’s top shows were profiled for international buyers, and several panels debated the current state of affairs in Spain’s TV production industry. Professionals from around the world tuned into this year’s Showcase, which had the overriding theme of international co-production.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor When director Dani de la Torre (“La Unidad,” “Gun City”) read a news article detailing how the Spanish coastal town of Marbella became the playing ground for hundreds of international criminal organizations, he knew he had a new show on his hands. His “La Unidad” producing partners agreed and thus became Movistar Plus+ original series “Marbella,” premiering in Spain on May 2, to large media impact.

Jamie Lang Catalan films routinely punch above their weight at high-profile international festivals: Think 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs.” That trend looks primed to continue in 2024. Catalan auteur Albert Serra will debut “Afternoons of Solitude,” co-produced by Catalan companies Andergraun Films and LaCima, with Ideale Audience and Tardes de Soledad.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed first sales and released the first-look image from Oscar-nominated Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland‘s biopic of the Czech novelist Franz Kafka, “Franz.” The project has sold to September Film in Benelux, Filmin in Spain, Vertigo in Hungary, MCF Megacom for the former Yugoslavia and Movies Inspired in Italy. The film was previously acquired for theatrical distribution by Bac Films Distribution in France, X Verleih in Germany and Austria, Bioscop in Czech Republic and TVP in Poland.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In a big strategic market swing, The Mediapro Studio is creating new U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles to double down on U.S. and English-language production for the U.S.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.