Elissa Federoff: Last News

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Locarno Film Festival’s StepIN think tank on the state of the indie film industry is set to take the pulse of the theatrical landscape, the flow of production, how film festivals and markets are faring and where things stand on gender equality and social impact.After a taking a break last year from its strictly business focus to zero in mainly on mental health and envisioning a more humane work environment, the Swiss fest’s unique initiative is back to delving into the industry’s most pressing operational issues and what lies ahead.“Now that the worst moments of the global pandemic seem behind us — and after a Cannes Film Festival in full gear — the film industry is questioning its future,” said StepIN project manager Marcello Paolillo, who is an Italian producer. As Paolillo puts it in his introduction, the basic overarching theme at StepIN is “Putting The Pieces Together in a Post-Pandemic Puzzle.”Now in its tenth year, StepIN is an interdisciplinary and international think tank, where some fifty European and international invited industry players — distributors, exhibitors, producers, sales agents, film institutions, financiers, streaming platforms, broadcasters, and film festival and markets reps — participate in closed working sessions to exchange thoughts on practices and business models and propose new ideas and strategies.The day-long event on Aug.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Over the past few months, a twisted killer, a nonagenarian avenger and a talk show host with a deadly interest in the occult have reinvigorated an indie film business that had been in a prolonged slump. The success of movies like “Longlegs,” “Thelma” and “Late Night With the Devil” have helped a sector of the entertainment industry — crushed by COVID, strikes and streaming — mount a box office comeback.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Longlegs,” an occult-tinged horror mystery about an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer, opened to a phenomenal $22.6 million, easily outgrossing “Fly Me to the Moon,” a $100 million dollar rom-com featuring two of Hollywood’s brightest stars. To pull off that upset, “Longlegs” got a lift from some sensational reviews, as well as a creepy performance by Nicolas Cage. The film’s opening weekend results are a record-breaking debut for Neon, the indie distributor that did an outstanding job of generating word-of-mouth for “Longlegs” thanks to a viral marketing campaign.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Neon, the indie studio behind “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Parasite,” has made a pair of key promotions. Elissa Federoff has been named chief distribution officer, having previously served as president of distribution, while Ryan Friscia has been upped to chief financial officer, having previously served as the company’s EVP of finance and business development.

Ava DuVernay’s Origin’s theatrical debut grossed a solid $875k on 130 screens with a $7k per-theater average said to be better than Neon anticipated.

Studio brass wowed theater owners this week with Maverick: Top Gun, Avatar: The Way of Water and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse among other tentpoles. But they were also clear at the just-wrapped CinemaCon that a reviving box office requires a wide breadth of content.

Films from Belfast to Drive My Car, from The Worst Person In The World to Nightmare Alley saw ticket sales pop after Academy Award nominations and as distributors kick into high gear for this weekend and beyond, juggling theater counts and ramped up media campaigns that now have a shiny new imprimatur.

Neon’s racked up a few bests this weekend with a cume of $135,042 at four NY/LA theaters for a popping per screen average of $33,768.

Manori Ravindran International EditorWarner Bros.’ game-changing plans for the international-led roll-out of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” are helping distributors such as Neon hammer out their own release strategies into the fall.Speaking as part of a Variety Streaming Room event with the Locarno Film Festival’s StepIn industry program, Neon president of distribution Elissa Federoff said the global release — which will see the thriller launch in countries such as the U.K., France, Korea and Turkey a week ahead of the Sept. 3 U.S.