Did a Virtual Sundance Slow Down Sales After Last Year’s Record-Breaking Buying Spree?

When Sundance was forced to pivot from a hybrid festival to a virtual one, there was disappointment from the filmmakers, yet many sellers and buyers predicted that, for better or worse, acquisitions would continue at a pace that might even outstrip last year’s record-setting deals for titles like “CODA” and “Summer of Soul.”

But despite Sundance front-loading nearly all of its premieres to the festival’s first four days, deals didn’t start coming in earnest until after everyone had a chance to view the full lineup. Starting Tuesday, a wave of acquisitions were announced, including Searchlight’s $7.5 million deal for the Emma Thompson dramedy “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” RLJE Entertainment’s low-seven-figure deal for the Karen Gillan-Aaron Paul thriller “Dual,” and Nat Geo’s mid-seven-figure buy of the volcano doc “Fire of Love.”

While Apple plunked down $15 million for Cooper Raiff’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” none of this year’s titles have so far matched the record-breaking acquisition frenzy that surrounded films like “CODA,” “Summer of Soul” and “Passing” last year.

Insiders chalked up the slow pace of acquisitions to the nature of a virtual event where the players can’t get in the same room to hammer out a deal.

“The virtual setting of the festival just changes the pace and tone of everything. All of the filmmakers have been really flexible, and buyers and industry wide people understood why Sundance needed to go virtual, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t change the tone and speed at which things are happening,” Kathryn Everett, head of film at documentary studio XTR, told TheWrap.

One top manager agreed that the virtual, front-loaded festival “no doubt” had an effect on this year’s market. “You not only remove the exciting atmosphere of the festival but control of how the films are viewed which could skew how a buyer feels,” the manager said. “The laughs and energy of a theater crowd give you real time consumer reactions and no one can argue that doesn’t have an effect.”

But one top agent argued that sales have happened at a healthy pace — but the momentum for any film’s buzz was what really slowed to a crawl. “When it was in person, you’d go to parties, people would talk about, ‘You should this’ or ‘You should watch that’ — and momentum and hype would build,” the agent said. “I would say it stopped or slowed down some over-buys or buys that never should happen in the first place.”

And while sales have been relatively sparse as the festival winds down, insiders expect more deals to close in the coming days and weeks. “There will be sales to come for sure. In the virtual environment, it takes a bit longer to coordinate conversations as most people are juggling the festival, along with life and work,” Courtney Sexton, senior VP with CNN Films said. “When the festival happens in-person, we are all in the room at the same time focused on one thing. At home, you cannot be as focused and coordinated as on the ground.”

Cooper Raiff and Dakota Johnson in “Cha Cha Real Smooth” (Apple Original Films)

That’s in part because thus far, with the exception of Apple, the streamers have mostly remained quiet. One film executive told TheWrap that while more deals will close by the end of the week, the virtual festival has allowed those with the biggest pockets the luxury to make their picks and wait and see everything that’s available before making a move. And while the window might’ve passed for a sale on the level of a “CODA” or “Summer of Soul,” the executive speculates it could even be advantageous for agents who want to give smaller buyers the chance to make bids with a price those distributors see as attainable.

What’s more, many of the buzziest titles or most commercial films, be they documentaries or features, already had distribution in place, including Netflix’s Kanye West documentary “jeen-yuhs,” Amy Poehler’s Lucille Ball doc “Lucy and Desi” for Amazon (which also came with the buzzy “Master” and “Emergency” to the festival) and A24’s Colin Farrell sci-fi drama “After Yang,” which drummed up more excitement at Sundance after first bowing at last year’s Cannes.

“Most of the obvious commercial films are already with distributors, so for us it’s about identifying the films with subject matter that we think CNN can truly elevate and bring an audience to watch,” Sexton said, adding that CNN Films is still in the market to acquire. And documentaries like the ones CNN seeks have seen some healthy action: Several documentary sales broke over the festival’s first weekend, including for critical darling “Fire of Love” and for “The Territory,” both to Nat Geo, and for “Calendar Girls” to Juno Films ahead of its premiere.

It’s also possible that streamers may simply be getting out of the market for finished films, given that past acquisitions have not always matched the festival hype with box office results. “When buyers are just watching these films at home away from the hype echo-chamber, they’re bound to watch them more objectively as far as their potential breakout,” the agent says.

“Streamers are leaning towards big IP in order to compete with one another. Last year, Apple was the big buyer paying $25 million for ‘CODA,’ this year the big announcement during Sundance has been unrelated to Sundance and involves the Godzilla television show,” one producer added. “Streamers are moving towards branded IP rather than festival movies — it’s now all about big IP.”

There is still plenty of buzz however around several acquisition titles, both narrative features and documentaries. Everett says that XTR, which produced six films at the fest including “The Territory,” is in conversations on all of their titles and expect to leave the festival with distribution for each. And she’s hopeful it’s only a matter of time before other films find the right audience.

“It’s a program on the doc side that is very artist and auteur driven. It’s a program that is really based on discovery, a lot of first time filmmakers, films that are very specific to those filmmakers and about subject matters that are personally meaningful to them. Just an artist-driven program,” Everett said. “What we’re seeing right now is that doesn’t necessarily align with what’s popular in terms of the industry at large in terms of value and prices. But I don’t think that means this marketplace is slower. I think it’s right on schedule.”