Netflix Lands Richard Linklater-Helmed ‘Hit Man’ For $20 Million Toronto Deal; Aggregate/AGC Studios Pic Stars Glen Powell & Adria Arjona
18.09.2023 - 16:37
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint. Hit Man stars Top Gun Maverick’s Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (Andor) playing the most unlikely romantic partners, in performances that will boost each of their careers. Especially Powell, who co-wrote with Linklater what will be a major star turn for him. Netflix got US, UK, Australia/New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland. There is also a theatrical component to the deal, I’ve heard.
Heading into its final weekend, TIFF had been slow so far on the deal front, but this is the second big one for Netflix, with the Anna Kendrick-directed Woman of the Hour getting a Netflix deal around $11 million. More deals should start flowing after this one was settled. It didn’t show until Monday because TIFF doesn’t premiere anything that premiered elsewhere until after the first weekend. There are plenty of films that pleased critics and audiences, and a lot of movies will find homes, as will some films that were screened privately.
I’d heard bids lined up before the film premiered Monday, but that the sellers at CAA Media Finance which did the deal with AGC Studios and Cinetic Media waited until the premiere before beginning to field offers. AGC financed Hit Man with Shiv Hans and Monarch Media. AGC had already closed a slew of international territorial deals.
Linklater and Powell (on their fourth collaboration)