TIFF Takeaways, Sydney Sweeney’s Oscar Hopes, Crowdpleasers and More

The Toronto Film Festival’s 50th edition may not have reached previous heights, but it was the liveliest and starriest in years.

Daniel Craig and a parade of A-listers delivered “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” to a boisterous crowd; Channing Tatum and Brendan Fraser enjoyed some of the best reviews of their careers for “Roofman” and “Rental Family,” both of which premiered at TIFF; and Sydney Sweeney took the festival by storm, earning plaudits for “Christy” and gamely working the room at any event she attended.

There may not have been the splashy sales of years past, but several films looking for distribution, such as Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers,” Mona Fastvold’s “The Testament of Ann Lee” and Daniel Roher’s “Tuner,” seem certain to land deals after scoring with critics. It’s just going to take more time to collect those big checks. As TIFF winds down, here are five takeaways from a festival that is starting to regain its stride.

Make Some Room, Boys!

The best actor race is looking mighty crowded. After receiving raves at Venice for “The Smashing
Machine,” Dwayne Johnson continued to build momentum for his transformative performance as troubled MMA fighter Mark Kerr, earning another thunderous ovation at the film’s Canadian premiere. But he’ll have to deliver a knockout to some heavyweight contenders. They include a never-better Tatum, who stars as a kindhearted crook in “Roofman,” as well as Fraser’s work as a lonely actor in “Rental Family,” Colin Farrell portraying a gambling addict in “Ballad of a Small Player” and Russell Crowe turning in a comeback tour de force as one of the worst human beings in history, Hermann Göring, in “Nuremberg.” And we have yet to see what Timothée Chalamet is serving up in “Marty Supreme,” which seems like another potential nominee. With all these sizzling star turns, someone will find himself left out in the cold when Oscar nominations are announced.

New Kids on the Block

You may have heard, but it’s not exactly boom times at the box office. Despite the setbacks, a few brave souls are still willing to bet on a movie business revival. Black Bear, which has made a name for itself backing acclaimed indies like “Sing Sing,” recently said it would distribute up to 12 films annually. At TIFF it took “Christy,” a buzzy true-life boxing drama that it financed, off the table, announcing that it would handle the film’s theatrical rollout. Then there’s Row K, which is backed by Media Capital Technologies
and plans to bring 10 movies a year to theaters. Distributing films is cost-intensive and risky — just ask Annapurna, Broad Green and a host of other studios that lost their shirts trying to make it work. But Black Bear has enlisted Benjamin Kramer, an old hand from CAA, to oversee operations, and Row K has tapped Megan Colligan, a former Paramount and Imax executive, to lead the company. Both are veterans who bring impressive track records, but will their skills translate to the Wild West of distribution?

Sydney Sweeney Enters the Ring

The “Euphoria” star may want to start rehearsing her acceptance speech after dazzling audiences at
TIFF with her turn as Christy Martin. To play the pioneering boxer, Sweeney packed on 30 pounds and
did her own fighting. Oscar voters often reward that kind of commitment (see Charlize Theron in “Monster” or Hilary Swank in “Million Dollar Baby”), and Sweeney, one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars, proves that she’s also a formidable acting talent. Of course, being on the awards circuit presents
certain hazards. Sweeney has kept silent on the controversy that erupted around her American
Eagle jeans campaign, but at some point, she may need to find a tactful way to address the backlash.

Horror Gets a Makeover

During a public talk about the state of the industry, NBCUniversal chief Donna Langley revealed that horror, one of the most reliable box office forces, is undergoing a shake-up. The old model of cheaply produced scares isn’t delivering like it once did — witness Blumhouse’s recent struggles with “M3GAN 2.0” and “Drop.” Instead, Langley argued, audiences want auteur-driven horror films, such as Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” Osgood Perkins’ “Longlegs” and Zach Cregger’s “Weapons,” which have a prestige veneer and carry higher budgets. And it’s not enough to have a homicidal maniac in a mask and expect audiences to turn up. “The weirder, the better,” Langley said. She’s putting her money where her mouth is. Focus, a division of Universal, is shelling out $15 million to buy “Obsession,” a horror film from YouTube sensation Curry Barker that puts a bloody spin on the romance genre.

Forget Your Troubles

Awards races are often dominated by very earnest movies about very important topics. But with the
world on fire, it may be time to banish the blues. Many of the films that hit Toronto and the other
major festivals are unabashedly entertaining. “Roofman” and “Rental Family,” for instance, deftly
balance humor and heart, while the twisty pleasures of “Wake Up Dead Man” delighted critics, who called it the franchise’s most entertaining entry. In the end, however, these crowd-pleasers may have to overcome much weightier fare to be declared the winner. “Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao’s shattering look at how the death of Shakespeare’s young son impacted his artistic life, is widely considered the Oscar frontrunner. It may be brilliant, but escapist it assuredly is not.