Searchlight Lands Jesse Eisenberg-Directed ‘A Real Pain’ In First Big Sundance $10M WW Deal; ‘Succession’s Kieran Culkin Stars In Poland Road Trip Pic

EXCLUSIVE: The dealmaking has begun. Searchlight Pictures is closing the first major deal on the ground — $10 million for WW rights for A Real Pain, directed and written by Jesse Eisenberg. He stars with freshly minted Emmy winning Succession star Kieran Culkin as mismatched cousins David and Benji. They reunite for a tour of Poland to honor their grandmother, but older tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family’s history. The film will get a big theatrical release.

Pic also stars Jennifer Grey and Will Sharpe and it’s produced by Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Ewa Puszczynska, Jennifer Semler, Eisenberg and Emma Stone. The film, playing in the US Dramatic Competition, has been a buzz title coming in and bidding buzz has mounted since its premiere yesterday at Eccles.

Deal was brokered by CAA Media Finance and WME. It was a proper all-nighter auction, a throwback to years past in Sundance.

There was a lot of enthusiasm for many films that premiered in the fest’s opening frame, with more to come today. More talk of deals than I’ve heard at this point in the festival, in several years. Not sure there’s going to be a record breaker like the $25 million Apple paid for eventual Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, but a lot of these films will find homes. Most probably won’t sell until buyers and sellers go home, because the dealmaking pace is much more deliberate than in the past because you can appreciate the artistry of a film, but you have to be sure you can market it and release it and make some money. But it’s a good time in Park City.