Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Set for May 2025 Release from Focus Features – IndieWire
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We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.We’re just a few months away from a new film from Wes Anderson. Anderson’s latest feature film “The Phoenician Scheme” — his 12th feature — has been set for a theatrical release on May 30, 2025 from Focus Features, which has landed the worldwide distribution rights to the film after previously releasing his last feature, 2023’s “Asteroid City.” That timing could point to a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where “Asteroid City” debuted in 2023. This is the third movie between Anderson’s Indian Paintbrush and Focus, which also released “Moonrise Kingdom” from 2012. Focus will distribute in the U.S. with a limited release on May 30 and wide expansion on June 6. Universal Pictures International is handling international distribution.
Related Stories Metrograph to Honor David Lynch with All-Day Marathon Featuring ‘Blue Velvet’ Cinematographer Frederick Elmes IndieWire Honors Announces 2025 Dates The limited release date is the same as Sony’s “The Karate Kid” remake, and it opens wide against Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff “Ballerina.” Given the date, it’s a good bet that Focus is setting the film up for a Cannes launching pad, where “Asteroid City” likewise premiered before it launched in the summer to $53.8 million at the global box office. Anderson directed and co-wrote “The Phoenician Scheme,” teaming again with Roman Coppola on the script. The official logline is simply that it is “The story of a family and a family business.” Benicio del Toro leads the cast as Zsa-zsa Korda, described as one of the richest men in Europe. Mia Threapleton plays Sister Liesl, who is Korda’s daughter and a nun, and Michael Cera is Bjorn Lund, their tutor. Rounding out the ensemble are Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, and Benedict Cumberbatch.Some of the reports about “The Phoenician Scheme” have been that it’s an espionage film centered around a strained father-daughter relationship and the moral gray area that surrounds them. The Phoenicians were an ancient group of maritime traders living in the Mediterranean region, roughly around modern-day Lebanon. “The Phoenician Scheme” was produced by Anderson for his American Empirical Pictures banner alongside longtime collaborators Steven Rales of Indian Paintbrush, Jeremy Dawson, and John Peet. The movie was filmed in Germany in association with Studio Babelsberg.
Anderson in 2023 also directed his collection of four Roald Dahl short films for Netflix, most notably “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” which won Anderson his first-ever Oscar.By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
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