Searchlight Pictures has just closed a $25 million+ worldwide rights deal for Annapurna’s neo-horror film Nightbitch, starring six-time Academy Award nominee, Amy Adams.
Per Deadline, it was a pretty competitive sale because of the film’s plot and the talent behind it. Marielle Heller, director of Can You Ever Forgive Me? is at the helm while Rachel Yoder will be adapting her very own acclaimed novel that the film is based on for the movie’s script. The film focuses on a woman who is stuck in the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs. She soon embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood which makes her increasingly aware of the signs that she may be turning into a canine.
Bond Group and Annapurna acquired the film rights to the book back in 2020 and played a part in developing the script with Heller. The original plan was to launch a sales pitch at the Cannes Film Festival but Searchlight has been tracking this project since Berlin. Five offers were made for the film but Searchlight, showing that persistence pays off, won in the end. Searchlight Presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield had this to say about the project:
“We are long-time admirers of Amy Adams, and we are thrilled to join with Annapurna and this incredibly creative team of filmmakers to bring this unique story to the screen. We’re also delighted to reunite with Mari Heller and Anne Carey again following the collaboration on Can You Ever Forgive Me? Mari has brilliantly adapted Rachel Yoder’s stunning debut for what promises to be a provocative film.”
Heller seems to have the magic touch when it comes to Oscar nominations. She recently directed the Oscar-nominated and critically acclaimed Mr. Rogers drama A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks, who garnered an Academy Award nomination for his performance. She previously worked with Searchlight Pictures as the director of the letter forgery dramedy Can You Ever Forgive Me?, starring Academy Award-nominated actors Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant.
Are YOU excited to see Nightbitch?