EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has acquired worldwide distribution rights ahead of the European Film Market to the upcoming psychological horror film A Head Full of Ghosts, which has David Harbour (Stranger Things), Rebecca Hall (The Beauty), and Esmé Creed-Miles (The Sandman) in final negotiations to star.
Filming is being lined up for March on the film from Team Downey, The Allegiance Theater and Fifth Season. The synopsis reads: “The Barretts’ suburban life is torn apart when their teenage daughter’s descent into madness becomes the subject of a reality show. Fifteen years later, her sister Merry faces her family’s haunting past with a journalist, uncovering the very nature of the evil that destroyed them.”
Based on the 2015 novel by Paul Tremblay, the film will be written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the duo behind the German-language cult horror Goodnight Mommy, which was Austria’s 2014 Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film. The duo made their English-language debut with The Lodge, starring Riley Keough, which Neon released in 2020.
Lionsgate will be selling international rights to the movie at next week’s European Film Market in Berlin. The studio will also handle domestic distribution, which is always a positive for international buyers considering pre-buys.
Producers are Daniel Dubiecki and Lara Alameddine of The Allegiance Theater, Susan Downey and Robert Downey Jr. of Team Downey, alongside David Gambino, and Fifth Season. Lauren Bixby negotiated the deal on behalf of the studio.
Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Team Downey, The Allegiance Theater, and David Gambino, and our friends at Fifth Season, who collectively bring exceptional prestige and creative confidence to the project. This team’s artistic vision for this terrifying story has been undeniable – striking, distinct and genuinely unsettling. It’s no surprise that Stephen King called this book his favorite novel of the past decade and said that it ‘scared the living hell’ out of him – which says it all.”
Team Downey is represented by WME and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox. Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are represented by WME and Black Bear.