A24 buys Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” after the Venice Film Festival

A24 has secured U.S. distribution rights to The Brutalist, a historical epic directed by Brady Corbet and starring Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. The 215-minute film (with intermission!) debuted to great acclaim at the Venice Film Festival before opening at the Toronto Film Festival.

After The Brutalist received a 12-minute standing ovation in Venice and earned Corbet the Silver Lion for best director, several parties sought to sell it. A24 emerged victorious in what was described as a competitive situation. According to sources, CAA Media Finance brokered the deal, which was worth just under $10 million. A24 declined to comment.

“The Brutalist” tells the story of Hungarian-born Jewish architect László Tóth (Brody), who emigrates to the United States in 1947. At first he has to work in poverty, but soon he receives a commission that will change his life for the next 30 years. Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Alessandro Nivola and Jonathan Hyde also star in the film, which Corbet wrote together with his wife Mona Fastvold (“The Sleepwalker”).

In diversity In his review, chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote that Corbet “breaks through in his third feature” – the filmmaker's resume also includes 2015's The Childhood of a Leader and 2018's Vox Lux, starring Natalie Portman – and called the film a “riveting epic.”

Focus Features owns international territorial rights outside North America. A release date has not been announced. “The Brutalist,” shot in VistaVision and shown in 70mm in Venice and Toronto, will later screen at the New York Film Festival.

The Brutalist is produced by Trevor Matthews and Nick Gordon for Brookstreet UK, with Brian Young and Andrew Morrison of Kaplan Morrison. Also producing are Andrew Lauren for Andrew Lauren Productions and DJ Gugenheim. Brookstreet UK is financing with Lip Sync Productions, Richmond Pictures, Meyohas Studio, Carte Blanche, Pierce Capital Entertainment and lead lender Cofiloisirs.

Corbet has dismissed discussion of the film's length of three hours and 15 minutes. “I actually find it quite silly to talk about the running time,” he told reporters at the Venice press conference. “It's like criticizing a book for having 700 pages instead of 100.”