Florian Zeller’s ‘The Son’ With Hugh Jackman Hits 500+ Screens and Sundance Kicks Off – Specialty Preview

Sony Pictures Classics presents Florian Zellers The son to 554 Screens, an emotional family drama that follows the director’s Oscar-winning film in 2020 The father. Just like in this movie The son is an adaptation of Zeller’s own play starring Christopher Hampton. Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath and Anthony Hopkins star in the cautionary tale of a family struggling to reunite.

Jackman plays Peter, whose hectic life with new baby and partner Beth (Kirby) is turned upside down when ex-wife Kate (Dern) appears to be talking about her troubled teenage son Nicholas (McGrath). Peter strives to take care of Nicholas and be the father he wanted, but finds himself losing sight of how he can keep Nicholas in the present by reaching into the past to right wrongs. The son received a ten-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered. Appointment overview here.

The latest series of feature films hit theaters as the Sundance Film Festival begins. The bastion of indie films and filmmakers is back in person for the first time since 2020 with a diverse lineup of new and established directors amid a tougher environment for independents. At yesterday’s first press conference, Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente acknowledged the challenges.

“I think it’s so important that we come together, that the industry comes together. We know there has been a lot of consolidation in the industry. We know that theatrical screenings are difficult for special films,” she said. There are more questions than solutions. But festivals play a key role in creating dialogue and promoting indie films.

“How do we get through this together? How do we keep people curious about these kinds of movies that can really shake you, that take risks, that [present] an original vision that offers different perspectives and challenges the status quo? How do we develop the audience? How do we get attention? And that is part of the festival’s role. So in a way it’s more important than ever.”

Also open this week: Lionsgate presents thrillers Alice, honey by Mary Nighy, starring Anna Kendrick as a woman pushed to her limit by her abusive boyfriend. Written by Alanna Francis. With Kaniehtiio Horn, Charlie Carrick and Wunmi Mosaku. Premiere in Toronto, Deadline Review here.

British Vertigo presents its first ever BAFTA-winning theatrical release in the United States after love, on 20 screens with expandability. This is Aleem Khan’s debut film, which will host V&A in NYC. The story of a widow who discovers her husband’s secret family after his unexpected death stars Joanna Scanlan, who won the BAFTA for Best Actress last year. Also with Nathalie Richard and Tali Ariss.

Scanlan plays Mary, a white English woman who converted to Islam when she married her Pakistani husband Ahmed and settled in Dover, England. After Ahmed’s unexpected death, Mary discovers that her late husband lived a secret life just 21 miles away, across the English Channel in Calais, France. The shocking discovery forces her to go there to find out more, and as she grapples with her shattered sense of identity, her search for understanding has surprising consequences.

A24 presented When you’re done saving the world Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore and Finn Wolfhard as mother and son, Evelyn and Ziggy search for a replacement – with Evelyn desperately trying to raise a lowly teenager in their home while Ziggy searches for a brilliant young woman continues at school. – only to find they have more in common than they thought. Eisenberg’s first film as writer and director debuted at Sundance last year. See deadline check.

Netflix offers comedy You guysthe feature film debut of TV titan Kenya Barris (blackness) with Jonah Hill, Lauren London, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Duchovny, Eddie Murphy and Nia Long in approximately 100 theaters in 30 markets, including NYC Paris, Quad and iPic Fulton Market and Cinemark Baldwin Hills, iPic Westwood, Los Feliz Cinema, Regal LA Live and The Bay in LA. It will debut on the streamer on January 27th.

Vertical Entertainment presents Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson in erotic horror Only at night by Jimmy Giannopoulos Limited Edition Day-and-date, including NYC, LA, Chicago and several other markets.