Neon and Topic Studios present writer/director Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool at 1,835 theaters in a lively specialty weekend sandwiched between a new crop of Sundance films and noteworthy expansions in the glow of Oscar nominations.
Infinity Pool, staring Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman and Jalil Lespert, had a splashy debut last weekend in the Midnight section of just wrapped Sundance Film Festival. Skarsgard and Coleman are enjoying a perfect vacation at a beach getaway in the fictional state of Li Tolqa — until another tourist couple convinces them to venture outside the resort grounds, where they find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism and horror. Deadline review here.
A24 presents Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s Close, just nominated for Best International Feature and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The drama follows Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Remi (Gustav De Waele), two thirteen-year-old best friends whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly and tragically torn apart. Written by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens. Also stars Émilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker.
The film opens at four locations in New York and L.A.
Deon Taylor and Roxanne Taylor’s Hidden Empire Releasing presents horror-thriller Fear, directed by Deon Taylor and written by Taylor and John Ferry, on 1,000+ screens.
A year into a worldwide pandemic, a group of friends gather in the remote Tahoe Mountains at the historic Strawberry Lodge. A much-needed getaway and celebratory weekend quickly becomes a nightmare and fight for survival as the truth about the lodge unravels in front of them. Starring Joseph Sikora, Andrew Bachelor, Annie Ilonzeh, Ruby Modine, Iddo Goldberg, Terrence Jenkins and Jessica Allain, with Tip “T.I.” Harris.
Greenwich Entertainment presents The Man In The Basement in NYC, LA and 10 additional top 25 markets on 17 runs (with a 32-day exclusive theatrical window). Directed by Philippe Le Guay and starring François Cluzet, Jérémie Renier and Bérénice Bejo. It won top prize at the UK Jewish Film Festival.
Based on a true story of friends of co-writer and director Le Guay, a happily married Parisian couple (Renier and Bejo) sell a basement storage area in their apartment building to a seemingly ordinary man (Cluzet) to keep his archives. It soon becomes clear the man has taken up permanent residence there and he is also revealed to be a notorious Holocaust denier. The couple desperately try to cancel the sale to no avail then begin a protracted legal action to evict as the basement dweller becomes an insidious presence, undermining the couple’s marriage and insinuating himself with their naive teenage daughter.
Greenwich timed the release date to National Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 28.
Expanding: UAR is giving Oscar Best Picture nominee Women Talking a nationwide expansion this weekend to 700+ theaters in 150+ markets – up from 153 runs in 59 markets.
Focus features is expanding Tár, with six Oscar noms, to 535 runs domestically.
Other specialty openings: IFC Films presents romantic comedy Life Upside Down written and directed by Cecilia Miniucchi and starring Bob Odenkirk, Radha Mitchell, Danny Huston and Rosie Fellner. Three couples connected by friendship, love and work navigate relationships in a digital age as their lives turn slowly but surely upside-down.
Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing presents espionage thriller Kompromat, directed by Jérôme Salle, starring Gilles Lellouche and Joanna Kulig, on five screens, including the Laemmle Glendale in L.A., and on demand. The story of a French public servant who unwittingly finds himself in conflict with one of the modern era’s most powerful and dangerous forces, Russia’s FSB, or federal security service, where’s he’s framed for a terrible crime.
Abramorama/PBS Great Performances present Remember This by Jeff Hutchens and Derek Goldman in limited release. Written by Clark Young and Goldman. Starring David Strathairn in a solo performance as Jan Karski in a true story of a reluctant World War II hero and Holocaust witness. Karski, a member of the Polish underground, risks his life to carry the first eyewitness reports of war-torn Poland to the Western world, and ultimately, the Oval Office.
Yash Raj Films opened Bollywood spy thriller Pathaan at close to 900 theaters on Wednesday with its final generating $59 million over a few weeks and a controversial music video with 240 million views. Directed by Siddharth Anand. Starring Shah Rukh Khan — in his highly anticipated first film in five years — Deepika Padukone and John Abraham.