Kiss of the Spider Woman - Still no distributor...- Page 2

[Dusoleilcanwhistle]

Posted: 2/6/25 at 5:39pm

It's really not that unusual for an independently-financed film to not have distribution right after the world premiere, especially one that has a higher price tag. 

The subject matter here also complicates sales given how few buyers there are now in Hollywood, and those that are left are mostly sucking up to the guy in the White House, which would keep them far away from this. 

I'm sure it will wind up somewhere eventually, but likely won't be released until the winter and make it an awards play for the 2026 Oscars. 

Updated On: 2/6/25 at 05:39 PM

[MezzA101]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 7:19am

Jennifer Lopez Musical 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' Heads To EFM

 

https://deadline.com/2025/02/jennifer-lopez-musical-kiss-of-the-spider-heads-efm-for-agc-1236280842/

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 10:08am

MezzA101 said: "Jennifer Lopez Musical 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' Heads To EFM



https://deadline.com/2025/02/jennifer-lopez-musical-kiss-of-the-spider-heads-efm-for-agc-1236280842/"

 

Well, this put the 'bidding war' rumor to rest. The film still has no distributor, period. IMO Jennifer Lopez is the hard sell part, even if she's fantastic in the film or not. She's been a massive flop for the past few years so I wouldn't rule out distributors have some doubts about her 'power'

[joevitus]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 10:33am

Don't see how this news puts "'the bidding war' rumor to rest." I'm getting the feeling that most of the people commenting on this who are acting like knowledgable insiders really don't have a clue what's going on, and are trying to act wise based on the random articles they come across.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 10:56am

I don’t claim to know anything about the specifics of THIS movie (only about other films that have been in similar situations) but screening the film for international buyers at EFM is normal:

A distributor usually isn’t going to buy worldwide rights.

Usually, they'll buy one territory or a few territories (such as North America) for an independent film. So then other distributors come to the table and say “I’ll take Spain for $1 million” or “I’ll take the UK for $3 million” and that’s another way to chip away at the budget. The big companies (Warner Bros, Netflix, etc) have international arms, but sometimes the results are better and the money is greater if a local distributor handles it. Every project is different.

Sometimes those territories are also pre-sold before shooting begins, and that’s a way to get some front money.

Updated On: 2/7/25 at 10:56 AM

[mshetina]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 3:13pm

joevitus said: "Don't see how this news puts "'the bidding war' rumor to rest." I'm getting the feeling that most of the people commenting on this who are acting like knowledgable insiders really don't have a clue what's going on, and are trying to act wise based on the random articles they come across."

I think a lot of the overreaction also comes from people, myself included, despairing about/not comprehending how dire the state of film distribution has become. The fact that a major movie musical is shopping for a distributor at Sundance alongside the lower-budgeted indies the festival was designed to elevate is not a sign of a healthy industry. We're basically relying on two main indie distributors (Neon and A24) to get interesting movies in front of audiences. When those distributors don't immediately bite post-Sundance, people catastrophize.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 5:58pm

mshetina said: "The fact that a major movie musical is shopping for a distributor atSundance alongside the lower-budgeted indies the festival was designed to elevate is not a sign of a healthy industry."

After everything that has happened in the industry for the past five years…..Kiss of the Spider Woman shopping for distribution is what tells you the industry isn’t doing well? The industry has been hurting long before this movie was ever announced. Thousands of people are still struggling to find work again, and the industry never went back to what it was pre-COVID. 

This is an independently produced adaptation of a thirty year-old musical that has rarely ever been properly mounted or revived in the last twenty years, starring a performer whose last movie, album, and documentary were all financial & critical flops, that opened to mixed reviews on the festival circuit. Why people thought this would be given any other treatment is beyond me.

Updated On: 2/7/25 at 05:58 PM

[Ke3]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 6:34pm

pablitonizer said: "MezzA101 said: "Jennifer Lopez Musical 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' Heads To EFM



https://deadline.com/2025/02/jennifer-lopez-musical-kiss-of-the-spider-heads-efm-for-agc-1236280842/"



Well, this put the 'bidding war' rumor to rest. The film still has no distributor, period. IMO Jennifer Lopez is thehard sell part, even if she's fantastic in the film or not. She's been a massive flop for the past few yearsso I wouldn't rule outdistributors have some doubts about her 'power'"

She may be the source of much online controversy but no, her film projects have stayed successful. Marry Me made its budget back and was Peacock's first streaming success, that wedding film was one of the most watched films on Amazon the year it came out, and that Netflix action movie might have looked like a Redbox title but it's one of the most watched Netflix films of all time. Tales of her "massive flopping" rely on not looking at the actual numbers. Which people in the industry do.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 7:18pm

Sure, and a film being the top/most viewed for X amount of time on a platform doesn’t mean it’s considered an actual streaming success. 

Endless amounts of fluff pieces praising these movies for having the ‘most views’, but nothing mentioning them bringing in paying subscribers to the platform, which is why the majority of streaming services are still struggling to make legitimate profits. The ad-based tears, multi-service bundles and removing password/account sharing are alternative revenue attempts as their content alone isn’t doing that.

This Is Me…Now, Greatest Love Story Never Told, and Shotgun Wedding are noticeably absent from this successful narrative. On top of the album that had the lowest charts & sales of her career, and the tour that was cancelled (after being changed from an album-supporting tour to a Greatest Hits one). JLO is not bringing in the dough, but people will watch things if it’s convenient and basically free with their service. 

Updated On: 2/7/25 at 07:18 PM

[mshetina]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 7:31pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: After everything that has happened in the industry for the past five years…..Kiss of the Spider Woman shopping for distribution is what tells you the industry isn’t doing well? The industry has been hurting long before this movie was ever announced. Thousands of people are still struggling to find work again, and the industry never went back to what it was pre-COVID.

There's no need to be condescending. This isn't Datalounge. 

To be clear, I didn't claim to have suddenly realized that the industry was in dire shape because of this one film's delayed distribution announcement. I am not ignorant of the fact that American film distribution has been steadily declining since the late aughts and that the few studio specialty units that survived the 2008 recession, like Searchlight and Focus, have been whittled down to shells of their former selves. Or that the Miramax/mini-major heyday ended over a decade ago. Or that industry-wide labor conditions post-COVID are more precarious than they've been since, arguably, the Great Depression/pre-union days.

What is difficult to fathom, for me, is that this is a fully independent film in the first place. What is so disheartening is the very fact that Artists Equity produced this without any studio/streamer involvement or any plans for distribution. All but one of their feature films has had the involvement of Amazon or Apple at the production stage - the only exception being the small Irish movie they co-financed, Small Things Like These. Their two films in production are being produced with Amazon and Netflix. Even in the current industry climate, this movie's current status is an outlier.

[Ke3]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 11:38pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Sure, and a film being the top/most viewed for X amount of time on a platform doesn’t mean it’s considered an actual streaming success.

Endless amounts of fluff pieces praising these movies for having the ‘most views’, but nothing mentioning them bringing in paying subscribers to the platform, which is why the majority of streaming services are still struggling to make legitimate profits. The ad-based tears, multi-service bundles and removing password/account sharingare alternative revenue attempts as their content alone isn’t doing that.

This Is Me…Now, Greatest Love Story Never Told, and Shotgun Weddingare noticeably absent from this successful narrative. On top of the album that had the lowest charts & sales of her career, and the tour that was cancelled (after being changed from an album-supporting tourto a Greatest Hits one). JLO is not bringing in thedough, but people will watch things if it’s convenient and basically free with their service."

Shotgun Wedding is the Amazon movie mentioned in my post and according to Nielsen was jointly responsible for a 10% increase in usage the month it came out. As I said in another thread about this movie, JLo the pop star has very little effect on JLo the film star at this point. In America, we don't do 55 year old pop stars and Jennifer Lopez certainly wasn't going to join the rarefied few we've allowed to make it that far. Despite that, her film career *has* remained stable largely because, unlike her peers, she primarily attaches herself to midbudget pictures with lower thresholds for success. 

Bombs also aren't new for JLo? It's very popular right now to act like this is some unseen low point for her when we're talking about a woman who starred in Gigli. She's been lower.

[Claude Perkins]

Posted: 2/7/25 at 11:51pm

People who watch J-Lo's crap rom-coms on Amazon are not the audience for Spider-Woman.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/8/25 at 4:01am

darquegk said: "Part of me wonders if this is an intentional coyote. A film made at great expense, with the intent to can it and ultimately profit from the write-offs."

I mean is that common with indie films like this that seem to be passion projects for all involved?

That linked post mostly just seems MAD that a musical premiered at Sundance (and they even admit they have no real source for the 60m price tag)