One of the most buzzed about movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival would be Palm Springs, a romantic comedy that is earning rave reviews for its inventive twist on the Groundhog Day model. The film hails from Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island, and Samberg also stars (along with Cristin Milioti) as a wedding guest trapped in a time loop. On Monday night, the film got snapped up by Hulu and indie distributor Neon in a deal that breaks the previous Sundance acquisition record set by Birth of a Nation (a drama about the 1831 slave rebellion) in 2016.
That’s notable news in its own right. However, the very precise (and unquestionably intentional) price of this deal is what’s drawing people’s attention the most. Palm Springs‘ acqusition tacked on $0.69 cents more than Birth of a Nation. To be more specific, that would be $17,500,000.69, and in typical Samberg fashion, he and his Lonely Island partners are making their own wisecrack about this deal:
“We spent over $85 million of our own money on this movie, WE ARE TAKING A BATH on this deal. We hope Neon and Hulu are happy but we definitely have a lot of explaining to do to our families.”
At this time, no theatrical release date has been set for Palm Springs, although obviously, the movie will stream on Hulu at some point. However and even if this deal gets left in the dust at a future Sundance film festival, the dollar amount will live on in infamy over the relentless repetition of this joke. Even Variety couldn’t resist.
— Variety (@Variety) January 28, 2020
My wife shot this movie. #nice https://t.co/WpkxVkLzAo
— Sam Riegel (@samriegel) January 28, 2020
— Vince Mancini (@VinceMancini) January 28, 2020
nice
— Matt Giltaji (@mattgiltaji) January 28, 2020
https://twitter.com/n0o0obmaster69/status/1222031457163476992
https://twitter.com/SeanRos10298280/status/1222153260401737741
(Via Associated Press & Variety)
