EXCLUSIVE: Gaga Corp. and Goodfellas have revealed new sales on Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Cannes 2023 Palme d’Or contender Monster as the drama enjoys a strong theatrical kick-off at the Japanese box office.
In fresh deals, the film has sold to China (Star Alliance), the Philippines (Nathan Studios), Canada (Photon), Latin America (Imovision) and the Maghreb (Retinia).
Monster was Kore-Eda’s ninth film to world premiere in Cannes Official Selection, following in the wake of his Korean-language work Broker, which won best actor for Song Kang-ho in 2022, and 2018 Palme d’Or for Shoplifters.
Shoplifters actress Sakura Ando stars as a woman who discovers an unexpected scenario when she approaches her son’s school in a bid to piece together the truth behind her young son’s strange behavior.
Read Deadline’s review for the film here and interview with the Kore-Eda here.
The film enjoyed a successful theatrical launch in Kore-Eda’s native Japan on June 2. Coming in third after The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Fast X, it drew 231,137 spectators in first three days on release for a $2.3 million gross (JPY 325 million).
Previously announced Asian deals for Gaga include South Korea (MediaCastle), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Taiwan (MovieCloud), Singapore and Vietnam (Clover Films), Thailand (Sahamongkol), Indonesia (Falcon) and India (Impact Films).
Goodfellas, which is handling all other territories outside of Asia, has previously posted sales to Italy (BIM), Spain (Vertigo), France (Le Pacte), Germany (Wild Bunch Germany), Benelux (September Film), Switzerland (Cineworx), Greece (Spentzos), Portugal (Midas), Scandinavia (Triart), Bulgaria (Beta Film), Yugoslavia (MCF), Hungary (Cirko), Baltic States (Kino Pavasaris), Poland (Best Film), CIS (Russian Report), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Turkey (Filmarti), Middle East (Teleview), Australia and New Zealand (Madman) and the U.S. (WellGo US).
