facebook-pixel

‘Palm Springs’ sets a Sundance record in $17.5M sale

(Charles Sykes/Invision | AP)Andy Samberg attends the premiere of "Palm Springs" at the Library Center Theatre during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Park City, Utah.

(Charles Sykes/Invision | AP)Andy Samberg attends the premiere of "Palm Springs" at the Library Center Theatre during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Park City, Utah.

Park City • The “Groundhog Day”-esque comedy “Palm Springs,” by Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island, has set an acquisition record at the Sundance Film Festival by 69 cents.

The indie distributor Neon and the streaming service Hulu bought "Palm Springs" for exactly $17,500,000.69 in a sale announced Monday evening at the Park City festival. The previous record Sundance sale was the $17.5 million Fox Searchlight paid for Nate Parker's "The Birth of a Nation" in 2016.

In a statement, Samberg and his Lonely Island partners Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, along with producer Becky Sloviter, joked that the financial terms of the deal were unfavorable.

"We spent over $85 million of our own money on this movie, WE ARE TAKING A BATH on this deal," they said. "We hope Neon and Hulu are happy but we definitely have a lot of explaining to do to our families."

[Read more: Two made-in-Utah movies wow audiences at their Sundance premieres]

"Palm Springs," directed by Max Barbakow, stars Samberg and Cristin Milioti as a pair of wedding guests who are trapped living the same day over again in the Southern California desert town. The film, one of the most obviously commercial at this year's Sundance, drew acclaim after its premiere Sunday for its clever twist on the "Groundhog Day" premise.

Neon will give “Palm Springs” a theatrical release, with Hulu taking the film’s streaming rights. No release date was announced.


Support free news for Utah

sltrib.com is now free to access — no subscription required. We made this decision because we believe access to trustworthy, independent news shouldn’t depend on what you can afford — especially as misinformation and AI-generated content continue to rise.

Free to read doesn’t mean free to produce. Our reporters show up every day to ask hard questions and hold powerful institutions to account. That work takes resources. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on support from people who believe it matters. Make a donation today to fund local news that serves Utah communities.

You can help us bring more local news to more communities today.