Paramount’s Republic Pictures label has acquired the North American rights to the dystopian drama-thriller, The End We Start From. The film stars Jodie Comer, winner of BAFTA and Emmy awards, and is directed by Mahalia Belo. The film is based on the novel by Megan Hunter and adapted to screen by Alice Birch. The movie is produced by SunnyMarch, Hera Pictures, Aftersun, and Sophie Hunter, and is currently in post-production. The film features a star-studded cast, including Joel Fry, Mark Strong, Katherine Waterston, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The deal is mid seven-figures, the biggest announced deal for a project on sale at this year’s Cannes market so far.
The Plot
The End We Start From follows the journey of a woman and her newborn child, who must try to find their way home amidst an environmental crisis that submerges London in flood waters. The chaos separates their young family and leaves them to fend for themselves. The film is both harrowing and hopeful, examining human resilience in the face of disaster.
Paramount’s Acquisition
Paramount’s Chief Content Licensing Officer and Republic Pictures President, Dan Cohen, expressed his excitement about the acquisition. He praised Mahalia Belo for bringing Megan Hunter’s novel to the screen and emphasized the film’s examination of human resilience. The acquisition marks Paramount’s biggest deal at this year’s Cannes market, where the company has been actively reviving its acquisitions play. Republic Pictures was founded in 1935 and shuttered in 1967.
The film was financed by Anton, C2 Motion Picture Group, BBC Film, and the BFI. The team behind the film includes Benedict Cumberbatch for SunnyMarch, Jodie Comer, Mark Strong, Sébastien Raybaud, Fanny Soulier, Pieter Engels, Kate Maxwell for Anton, Dave Caplan, and Jason Cloth for C2 Motion Picture Group, Eva Yates and Claudia Yusef for BBC Film, and Lizzie Francke for the BFI.
Market Response
The slew of strong packages announced pre-market prompted hopes of energetic deal-making in Cannes. While domestic deal-making has been sluggish to date, a number of projects are being sold well internationally. The bigger festival titles are starting to generate heat for North America. Sony’s big splash for the Paddington threequel was the biggest deal finalized at the Cannes market so far. Neon made the first announced North American deal for a festival movie with Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams, and Sony Classics announced a deal for animated doc They Shot The Piano Player. Prime Video was reportedly working on a UK deal for Firebrand, but that all rights pact was put in place last year.
Paramount’s Republic Pictures has acquired the North American rights to The End We Start From, a dystopian drama-thriller starring Jodie Comer. The film follows a woman and her newborn child as they navigate an environmental crisis that submerges London in flood waters. The deal is mid seven-figures, marking the biggest announced deal for a project on sale at this year’s Cannes market so far. The film is directed by Mahalia Belo and produced by SunnyMarch, Hera Pictures, Aftersun, and Sophie Hunter. The film is currently in post-production and boasts a star-studded cast, including Joel Fry, Mark Strong, Katherine Waterston, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The film examines human resilience in the face of disaster and marks a significant acquisition for Paramount’s Republic Pictures label.
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