Variety is reporting that The Ritual — a new horror film starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens — has been sold to numerous outlets in the international market by XYZ Films. Both Pacino and Stevens will be portraying priests in the exorcism movie, while Ashley Greene and Abigail Cowen join them in the cast. David Midell is helming the film. Midell directs from a script written by himself and is co-written by Enrico Natale. The film is produced by Andrew Stevens, Mitchell Welch and Natale. The Ritual plans for release sometime in 2025.
The plot synopsis, according to Variety, says the movie is based on a true story and “follows two priests — one questioning his faith (Stevens) and one reckoning with a troubled past (Pacino) — who must put aside their differences to save a possessed young woman through a difficult and dangerous series of exorcisms. The film is an authentic portrayal of Emma Schmidt, an American woman whose demonic possession culminated in harrowing exorcisms. Her case remains the most thoroughly documented exorcism in American history.”
International sales for the horror film includes companies like Umbrella for Australia/New Zealand, PremiereTV for Benelux, KMBO for France, Leonine for Germany/Austria/Switzerland, TFG for Greece, Plaion for Italy, NOS for Portugal, Inopia for Spain, Altitude for U.K./Ireland, Pro Rom for Eastern Europe, Volga for CIS Baltics, Falcon for Middle East, Siyah Beyaz for Turkey, IDC for Latin America, PVR for India, PT Prima for Indonesia, Antenna for Malaysia, Filmbridge for Mongolia, Pioneer for Philippines, Shaw for Singapore and JNC for South Korea and Vietnam.
BondIt Media Capital provided the financing for the project, with Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, and Tyler Gould for BondIt all on board as Executive Producers.
A number of upcoming titles from XYZ Films include Daniela Forever, starring Henry Golding and Beatrice Grannó; Full Throttle Mindset starring Josh Duhamel and Lukas Gage; He Bled Neon with Joe Cole and Rita Ora; Kill Me with Allison Williams and Charlie Day; Free Fall starring Zachary Levi and directed by Zoë Bell; Sundance title Skywalkers: A Love Story, which sold to Netflix; Ash starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul and is directed by Flying Lotus; as well as the Netflix Original Havoc, directed by Gareth Evans and starring Tom Hardy and Forest Whitaker.