A year and a half has gone by since A24 announced that they were re-teaming with Halina Reijn, the director of their slasher satire Bodies Bodies Bodies, on a erotic thriller called Babygirl, with Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Antonio Banderas (Desperado), Harris Dickinson (The Iron Claw), Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me), and Jean Reno (Léon: The Professional) set to star in the film. Now they have revealed (via Deadline) that they’re bringing Babygirl to theatres just in time for Christmas viewings, giving it a December 20th release date. That’s the same weekend Disney is releasing Mufasa, Paramount is releasing Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Angel Studios is releasing the faith-based post-apocalyptic film Homestead.
Christmas seems like an odd time to release an erotic thriller, but maybe this counter-programming will work out for A24. While families are taking the kids to Mufasa and Sonic and the devout see Homestead, the remaining movie-goers can get erotic thrills from Babygirl.
Reijn directed Babygirl from a screenplay she wrote herself. The story she crafted for this one centers on a high-powered CEO who puts her life’s work on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern. Given the “thriller” part of the “erotic thriller” description, we have to assume that this affair goes terribly wrong in some way… probably in a way that involves more than just hurt feelings.
Reijn is producing Babygirl for MAN UP Film, alongside A24 and David Hinojosa of 2AM. Julia Oh, Zach Nutman, and Christine D’Souza Gelb of 2AM serve as executive producers. A24 is providing the financing. In addition to working with Reijn on Bodies Bodies Bodies and Babygirl, A24 also picked up the distribution rights to her feature directorial debut Instinct, which was selected as the official Dutch entry for the Best International Feature Oscar.
Are you interested in Babygirl? What do you think of this A24 erotic thriller getting a Christmas release date? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
A24 also set release dates for the horror films The Front Room and Heretic this week, as well as the dark comedy thriller A Different Man (September 20) and the romance We Live in Time (October 11).