UPDATED: As I reported a few weeks ago, Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” is being released in November. It won’t be going to Cannes, but, rather, a very likely launch at Venice is now expected.
The release date is November 10, 2023. We also have an official synopsis with today’s press release:
From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at an elite New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them -- a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) -- and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
Back in August, I had mentioned some surprising, but VERY welcome news. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” was test-screened to enthusiastic reactions in Los Angeles. As someone had told me, it was a total return to form for Payne in what was being described as a smaller-scaled film.
The following month, “The Holdovers” privately screened for buyers on a Sunday at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, with, as The Wrap reported, one attendee left feeling that he had seen the best movie playing at the festival, even though it wasn’t an official selection of TIFF.
Not many people knew the screening was happening. Just 24 hours after that screening, Focus Features bought “The Holdovers” for a whopping $30 million. It was by far the biggest deal at TIFF, possibly ever for the festival.
According to The Wrap, there was interest from “multiple parties” before Focus won out in the auction.
Paul Greengrass’ "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, opened to $3.2M from 2,068 theaters this weekend. Yikes. The budget hasn’t been disclosed, but is said to be in the $20-$30M range.