Neon and Topic Studios introduce writer/director Brandon Cronenberg‘s infinity pool in 1,835 theaters in a lively weekend specializing in between a new crop of Sundance films and notable expansions in the aftermath of Oscar nominations.
infinity pool, starring Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth, Cleopatra Coleman and Jalil Lespert, made a spectacular debut last weekend in the Midnight section of the just-concluded Sundance Film Festival. Skarsgard and Coleman enjoy a picture-perfect beach getaway vacation in the fictional state of Li Tolqa, until another tourist couple convinces them to venture off the resort grounds, where they find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism and horror. Deadline Review here.
A24 presents the Belgian director lukas dhont‘s Close, recently nominated for Best International Feature Film 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 broken. Written by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens. It also stars Émilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker.
The film opens in four locations in New York and Los Angeles.
deon taylor and Roxanne Taylor’s Hidden Empire Releasing Presents a Horror Thriller fear, directed by Deon Taylor and written by Taylor and John Ferry, on more than 1,000 screens.
One year into a global pandemic, a group of friends gather in the remote Tahoe Mountains at the historic Strawberry Lodge. A much-needed getaway and celebratory weekend quickly turns into a nightmare and they struggle to survive as the truth about the lodge unfolds in front of them. Starring Joseph Sikora, Andrew Bachelor, Annie Ilonzeh, Ruby Modine, Iddo Goldberg, Terrence Jenkins and Jessica Allain, with Tip “TI” Harris.
Greenwich Entertainment presents The man in the basement in NYC, LA and an additional 10 25 major markets in 17 runs (with an exclusive 32-day theatrical window). Directed by Felipe Le Guay and starring François Cluzet, Jérémie Renier and Bérénice Bejo. It won first prize at the UK Jewish Film Festival.
Based on a true story of friends of co-writer/director Le Guay, a happily married Parisian couple (Renier and Bejo) sell a storage area in the basement of their apartment building to a seemingly ordinary man (Cluzet) to store their files. It soon becomes clear that the man has established his permanent residence there and is also revealed to be a notorious Holocaust denier. The couple desperately try to cancel the sale to no avail and then begin a protracted legal action to evict the person in the basement who becomes an insidious presence, undermining the couple’s marriage and making advances on his naive teenage daughter.
Greenwich scheduled the release date for National Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 28.
In expansion: The UAR awards nomination for the Oscar for Best Film women talking a nationwide expansion this weekend to more than 700 theaters in more than 150 markets, up from 153 showings in 59 markets.
Focus features are expanding Tar, with six Oscar names, to 535 races nationwide.
Other special openings: IFC Films presents romantic comedy The upside down life 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 slowly but surely turn.
Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing Presents Spy Thriller Kompromat, directed by Jérôme Salle, starring Gilles Lellouche and Joanna Kulig, on five screens, including Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles, and on demand. The story of a French public servant who inadvertently finds himself in conflict with one of the most powerful and dangerous forces of the modern age, Russia’s FSB, or federal security service, where he is 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 bring the first eyewitness reports from war-torn Poland to the Western world and, ultimately, to the Oval Office.
Yash Raj Films Opened Bollywood Spy Thriller lout in close to 900 theaters on Wednesday with its finale grossing $59 million in just 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.