Netflix has just acquired U.S. rights to “Maria,” Pablo Larraín’s biopic of opera singer Maria Callas, starring Angelina Jolie. The film had been screened for most of the top distributors, throughout the summer, with no one biting until today.
The streamer recently teamed with Larraín in last year’s “El Conde.” The project actually marks the seventh partnership between Netflix and Larraín’s Fabula production company. Earlier today, I wrote a little more about “Maria.”
Netflix doesn’t have a heavy slate of awards contenders this year; Their top priority is Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez,” with Malcolm Washington’s “The Piano Lesson” running a distant second. Adding “Maria” means the streamer has a possible Best Actress contender in Jolie’s buzzed performance, but it remains to be seen if “Maria” will make much of a dent at Venice, where it’s set to screen tomorrow morning for press.