4 Factors to Know

What was the biggest story at Sundance last year? That’s easy: when “CODA” sold big in 2021 and went on to win Best Picture in 2022. Would that happen in 2023? It didn’t, and what did happen at last year’s festival and what it means for the market in Park City in 2024 is now harder to pin down.

It might be the story of “Fair Play,” which sold to Netflix for $20 million and was the biggest sale in a market that also included aggressive bidding wars for “Flora and Son” (Apple) and “Theater Camp” (Searchlight). It could be the tale of “Talk to Me,” which A24 knew how to market into a $92 million worldwide box office hit when nothing else that premiered at the festival gained nearly the same box office traction. Or it could be that Lily Gladstone is taking time out of the Oscar circuit to hype “Fancy Dance,” a buzzy sales title that still doesn’t have a home.

Because of the writers and actors strikes, a theatrical market that’s still in flux, and contracting budgets and mandates across the industry, we had a harder time in 2024 defining the one trend that will shape the market. Still, there’s a lot weighing heavily on it. These are the big factors that jumped out in over a dozen conversations with agents, producers, distributors, and studio executives.