Starzplay Rebrands As Lionsgate+ Internationally

Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age drama The Fabelmans has been announced as the opening film of 44th Cairo International Film Festival, running from November 13 to 22.

EXCLUSIVE: Luminate, a venture supported by Deadline parent Penske Media, today announced the launch of Luminate Film & TV, a rebranding of the company’s film, TV, and SVOD metadata provider.

When you’re deep in among the cocktail parties and dinners or meeting up with much missed contacts at Mipcom this week, it might be easy to forget why everyone is there: the shows. To help you remember, we bring you Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best TV being sold in Cannes in 2022. You may hear whispers along the Croisette about the next big global hit, and The Hot Ones is our pick of a wealth of programing, featuring some of the biggest names in television from the top players in distribution.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Paramount’s R-rated thriller “Smile” continues to beat box office expectations in North America and beyond. Over the weekend, the horror movie added $16.3 million at the international box office, boosting its overseas tally to $66.4 million. Globally, “Smile” has grossed $137.5 million, a killer result for a film with a $17 million production budget. It’s an even bigger win when taking into account that “Smile” was originally commissioned for the streaming service Paramount+ and wasn’t intended to play in theaters at all. But positive test screenings encouraged Paramount to give the film a full theatrical rollout. It’s the studio’s latest win following “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Lost City,” “Scream” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”

Emily Longeretta Despite an ongoing pandemic, political unrest and frequent natural disasters due to global warming, viewers worldwide have not tired of true crime documentaries about horrific murders and inconceivable heists. True crime docus are enjoying unprecedented levels of global success. And while the marketplace may be saturated, the competition to find, produce and distribute the next story of a killer, fraudster or crypto criminal is intense. This year’s slate of true crime doc offerings at Mipcom is proof. Distribution company Abacus Media Rights (AMR) is taking 14 true crime titles, including “Murdered at First Sight,” “Love You to Death” and “Murder: Fight for the Truth,” to the Cannes television market.

Welcome to the International Insider, Max Goldbart here. We’ve been all over the proverbial shop this week with Mel and Jesse in sunny Rome and Zac racing round London at the speed of light to cover LFF. Read on for the biggest news in international TV and film.

Japanese director Naomi Kawase will preside over the international jury of the 44th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, running November 13 to 22.

Manori Ravindran International Editor New York’s South Asian International Film Festival has appointed Chayan Sarkar as its new president. A filmmaker, entrepreneur and festival director, Sarkar is also the founder of the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia. He takes over from SAIFF founder Shilen Amin, who will step down as president, but will remain a member of the festival’s board of directors. Sarkar joins SAIFF as the festival enters its 19th year as a leading film festival in the U.S. for new cinema from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and within the Indian diaspora. In recent years, SAIFF has become increasingly influential as a platform for South Asian cinema, both in the U.S. and internationally. Fourteen of India’s submissions for the international feature film Oscar have had their North American premieres at the festival.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Dutch Features Global Entertainment (“Mocro Maffia”), an Amsterdam- and LA-based sales agent, is rebranding as SKOOP Media. The company, which is turning 10 this year, has been expanding its services and portfolio of TV, films and content across all media. Under its new brand name, SKOOP Media will continue developing, financing and distributing high-end European drama series and feature films. The banner’s portfolio comprises more than 75 feature films and TV drama series, dispatched across two labels, SKOOP Prime and SKOOP Family. The rebranding won’t affect the leadership structure of the company. Pim van Collem will remain CEO, with Fulko Kuindersma as head of acquisitions and marketing, Muriel Horvers as controller and Jacqueline Ruinen as marketing and traffic manager. Erika Larson, who is based in LA, is joining the team as international sales manager.

Square Enix Montréal has been rebranded as Onoma following its acquisition by Embracer Group earlier this year.On a post on its new website, Onoma shared a behind the scenes insight into the rebranding and the story behind it, stating that its strength has always been the “ability to evolve and adapt to trends and market changes”, expressing excitement for the transformation.The new branding will serve “as an umbrella to multiple products, programs and initiatives,” the post said, claiming each had “distinct personalities”.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Mediawan Rights has expanded its unscripted division with the appointment of former Shine France top executive Jeremy Klif, and is opening up to formats from third-party producers. Klif has been tapped deputy director of international sales for the unscripted unit which was launched by Mediawan Rights’ managing director Valérie Vleeschhouwer, in April. Klif began his career in the U.S. at Mark Burnett Productions, and later worked as head of sales and acquisitions for Shine France (“The Voice,” “MasterChef”) upon his return to Paris. He went on to launch Borderline Media, a production and distribution banner specialized in formats, in 2017. At Mediawan Rights, Klif will work alongside Estelle Bodén, the co-founder of Sweden’s Elk Entertainment, who serves as head of distribution for the division. Like Klif, Bodén has a track record as an entrepreneur and also worked for indies and big groups such as Strix Television.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Ticket to Paradise,” a romantic comedy that reunites Julia Roberts and George Clooney, is (surprise, surprise) charming audiences at the international box office. The movie has generated $60 million overseas to date, a promising start given the current challenges facing theatrical rom-coms. Of course, it helps when the genre gets a boost from megawatt stars like Roberts and Clooney. According to Universal, which is backing the film, “Ticket to Paradise” is outpacing recent meet-cute stories like “The Lost City,” “Last Christmas” and “Crazy Rich Asians” at the same point in their respective big-screen rollouts. Over the weekend, “Ticket to Paradise” earned $10.5 million from 61 territories, including debuts in France ($1 million), Mexico ($1 million) and Italy ($800,000). In holdover markets, “Ticket to Paradise,” which features Clooney and Roberts as exes who try to stop their daughter from marrying a near stranger, has been popular in Australia ($8.5 million), the United Kingdom and Ireland ($7.4 million) and Germany ($7.4 million). It opens Oct. 21 in the U.S. and Canada.

It’s Friday, you’re starting to think of the weekend, so it must be Insider time. Join me once again as the Deadline International team cast a critical eye over the big news stories this week. Read on.

A portrait of Angelina Jolie covered in bees has been named one of the winners of the Siena International Photo Awards 2022. The 'Maleficent' actress posed with the creatures for a National Geographic piece to highlight her involvment in the Women for Bees programme for World Bee Day last year, and Dan Winters' image won the Fascinating Faces and Characters category at the annual competition. Images from all 12 categories will be on display at the Siena Awards Festival in Italy until 20 November, along with the winning photos of the Creative Photo Awards, Drone Photo Awards and the solo exhibitions of the late Danish Siddiqui.

Naman Ramachandran Banijay‘s planned acquisition of Sony Productions Film und Fernseh Produktions GmbH Germany (Sony Pictures Television Germany) from Sony Pictures is now complete. Following customary closing conditions, Banijay Germany has secured 100% stake in the company. The label, founded in 1995, will now operate as Noisy Pictures GmbH, with Astrid Quentell and Mirek Nitsch remaining in leadership positions. Sony Pictures Television Germany’s successful shows include “Die Höhle der Löwen,” which has been on Vox since 2014; drama-comedy “Der Lehrer,” which has played nine seasons on RTL and won numerous awards; and ZDF crime series “Heldt.”

After star turns in “The Last Black Man In San Francisco,” “The Harder They Fall,” and “Devotion,” what does Jonathan Majors have up next? Well, being Kang the Conquerer in various MCU fare is one answer, but here’s another, more audacious one. Deadline reports that Majors is set to star as ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman in Lionsgate‘s upcoming film, “48 Hours In Vegas.” READ MORE: New ‘Devotion’ Trailer: Jonathan Majors & Glen Powell’s Korean War Drama Has Its World Premiere At TIFF This September The upcoming film follows the infamous story now made legendary by last year’s Michael Jordan–Chicago Bulls documentary, “The Last Dance.” While the Bulls vied for their second thee-peat championship run, Rodman took a 48-hour trip to Las Vegas to unwind in the middle of the 1998 finals.

Narcos: Mexico has picked up two nominations at the International Emmy Awards 2022 and will battle with Lupin, Vigil and South Africa’s Reyka for the coveted Drama Series prize.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Rodrigo Sorogoyen, director of “As Bestas,” “Riot Police” and the Oscar-nominated “Madre,” is bringing onto the international market “La Guerra,” a six-part drama delivering a new vision of the Spanish Civil War which looks like one of the biggest Spanish series ever made. Sorogoyen will direct all six episodes. Isabel Peña, Sorogoyen, and Eduardo Villanueva, “Riot Police’s”writing team, have fairly definitive version of three episodes with the rest at an initial phase.  “La Guerra” was originally set up at Movistar Plus+. In an amicable settlement – Sorogoyen has gone on to direct and promote an episode of Movistar+ original “Offworld” at last week’s San Sebastián – after Movistar Plus+ pulled out of the series, Sorogoyen and Villanueva’s Madrid-based label Caballo Films have recovered the rights.