Sundance Queer Drama ‘Sebastian’ Finds U.S. and International Distribution (EXCLUSIVE)

With a solid offshore hold, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is closing in on $500M globally. The overseas weekend brought in $51.2M across 73 markets, a 40% drop versus last session (-37% excluding China). The international box office cume through Sunday is $289.4M, and worldwide the running total is $494.7M. The latter figure means the film has already surpassed Villeneuve’s 2021 Dune worldwide.

Bruno Fernandes has heaped praise on Marco Reus following Borussia Dortmund's win over PSV Eindhoven. The 34-year-old midfielder fired his side into the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday night with a brilliant effort in stoppage time.

Guns, cash and a huge amount of drugs were seized by police across Greater Manchester during a week-long 'county lines' crackdown.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Memento International has closed a raft of deals on “Fremont,” a critically acclaimed film starring Anaita Wali Zada, an Afghan refugee and first-time actor, and featuring “The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White. Directed by BAFTA-nominated Iranian-born director Babak Jalali, the black-and-white movie tells the story of Donya, a young woman working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the San Francisco bay. Formerly a translator for the U.S.

ZDF Latest To ‘Race Across The World‘

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here taking you through what has been a whirlwind of a week in international TV and film. Do not stop here — please do read on. And sign up here.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A rare flagship indie producer left on the French market, Bruno Nahon‘s Paris-based company Unité is preparing to conquer international audiences with “Rematch,” a period psychological thriller chronicling the historical battle between world chess champion Garry Kasparov (Christian Cooke, “That Dirty Black Bag”), and IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997. The sprawling show, directed by Yan England (“The Red Band Society”) and co-created with Nahon and André Gulluni (“Sam”), was commissioned by Arte in France and has already been sold by Federation Studios to major outlets around the world, including HBO Europe for Spain, Portugal, the Nordics, Iceland, Baltics, Central Europe, Greece and the Netherlands.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor That’s all, Oscar folks! In just 12 days, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will crack open 23 illustrious envelopes to unveil the victors of this year’s 96th Oscars. It’s a night where predictability usually reigns supreme, but hey, there’s always room for a curveball or two. During the past six days of intense voting, Variety has been on the scene, chatting it up with over 50 AMPAS members to get the lowdown on which movies and performances have been getting the thumbs-up on their ballots.

EXCLUSIVE: SkyShowtime‘s drama original Codename: Annika is taking its art crime sensibilities around the world.

Emiliano De Pablos U.K.-based distributor DCD Rights has pre-sold the fourth season of New Zealand’s mystery drama “My Life Is Murder” to a raft of territories ahead of its Feb. 27 official launch at the London Screenings. Starring Lucy Lawless (“Top of the Lake,” “Spartacus,” “Xena: Warrior Princess”), the series’ brand new season rights have been secured by YLE Finland, TV2 Denmark, Quebecor Content Canada and Yes DBS Israel.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Underscoring the enduring popularity of crime drama, Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, has announced a slew of sales on two titles, led by Showmax Original “Catch Me a Killer,” a true crime drama with “Game of Thrones’” Charlotte Hope playing South Africa’s first and most famous serial killer profiler. Hope also headed “The Spanish Princess,” as Catherine of Aragon. AMR has moreover closed further deals on fiction drama “Scrublands,” a scripted drama about the real reasons for a country town massacre.

Thania Garcia Los Angeles-based duo the Driver Era is hitting the road for a 17-city tour across North America. With over three albums to date, brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch will again begin touring on April 2 in Pittsburgh’s Roxian Theatre and hit venues in New York, New Jersey, Quebec and more before wrapping in Toronto on May 8.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Match Factory has revealed multiple distribution deals for two Berlinale competition titles: German director Matthias Glasner‘s “Dying,” which won the festival’s Silver Bear for best screenplay, and Russian director Victor Kossakovsky‘s documentary “Architecton.” “Dying,” which stars Lars Eidinger, Lilith Stangenberg and Corinna Harfouch, also picked up the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award. Variety‘s review describes the film as “a profoundly affecting exploration of life and loss.” The Match Factory closed deals for the film in France (Bodega Film), Italy (Satine Film), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Norway (Selmer Media), Poland (Aurora), CIS (Provzglyad), Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF MegaCom Film), Hungary (Cirko Films), Greece (Cinobo), Romania (Freealize), Taiwan (Andrews Film) and South Korea (Pancinema).

Dahomey,” a highlight of this year’s Berlinale competition and directed by Cannes prizewinner Mati Diop (“Atlantics”), for North America, Latin America, U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey and India. The feature film is represented in international markets by Films du Losange, which negotiated the deal with Mubi. “Dahomey” marks the sophomore outing of Diop, a French-Senegalese talent who is considered one of the leading figures in international arthouse cinema and of a new wave in African and diasporic cinema.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Polish public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) has added feature film “Shattered Games” to its international sales slate alongside rom-com film “The Love Buzz” and historical series “The Bay of Spies.” “Shattered Games” explores Poland’s rich history and influence in the game of chess. The Polish national chess squad, known as the “Golden Team” in Poland, won the world chess championship in Hamburg in 1930, and was renamed by the German press as the “Bombenmannschaft” or “Bomber Crew.” “The matches the team played are still to this day described in chess textbooks as examples of masterful moves and games,” TVP said in a statement.

K.J. Yossman Keshet International has acquired worldwide distribution rights for hostage drama “Conflict.” Produced by Backmann & Hoderhoff and XZY Films, “Conflict” is a six-part political thriller about an enemy force trying to incite a global conflict with a surprise attack. The series was created and produced by Andrei Alén and Aku Louhimies (“Rebellion”).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Highland Film Group has locked key territory deals for sci-fi thriller “The Astronaut” from “A Quiet Place” producer Brad Fuller Pic stars Kate Mara (“A Teacher”), Laurence Fishburne (“John Wick” films) and Gabriel Luna (“Terminator: Dark Fate”). The film wrapped shooting late last year in Ireland. “The Astronaut” has sold to Signature Entertainment for the U.K., Capelight Pictures for Germany, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, DeAPlaneta for Spain, Spentzos Film for Greece, Cinemania Group for former Yugoslavia, Shoval Film Production for Israel, Falcon Films for the Middle East, Filmfinity for South Africa and Roadshow Films for Australia and New Zealand.

Alex Ritman Saban Films has acquired North American rights to the British thriller “Kill,” starring Paul Higgins (“Slow Horses,” “Line of Duty”), Brian Vernel (“Star Wars: Episode VII – the Force Awakens,” “Dunkirk”), Daniel Portman (“Game of Thrones, The Angel’s Share”), Calum Ross (“Wednesday”), Anita Vettesse (“Outlander,” “Guilt”), James Harkness (“Darkest Hour,” “Phantom Thread”) and Joanne Thomson (“The Victim”). The film, which explores the history of violence, the power of family and the dangers of revenge, marks the feature directorial debut of Rodger Griffiths, who devised the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Rob Drummond. “Kill” follows a hunting trip that turns deadly when three brothers plot to murder their violent, abusive father.

EXCLUSIVE: France TV Distribution has posted new deals for French director Delphine Deloget’s custody battle drama All To Play For (Rien à perdre) starring Virgine Efira.

Emiliano De Pablos Pink Parrot Media, the Montreal and Madrid-based international sales house, has revealed a flurry of deals for the German-Canadian CG animated fantasy feature “Elli and Her Monster Team!,” which is making its market premiere at the EFM. Underlining the appetite for toon family features by European distributors, the film has been sold to Just Entertainment in Benelux, Bim Distribuzione in Italy, NOS Lusomundo in Portugal, Flins&Piniculas in Spain and GPI for Baltics. “Elli” has also been acquired by Pro Films in Bulgaria, Rocket Releasing for CIS, Forum (Czech Republic/Slovak), MCF Megacom Film (Former Yugoslavia), Cinetel (Hungary), Forum for Poland, Romania and Israel, and Front Row in the Middle East.