‘Kiss of the Spider Woman' Still Not Acquired— $60M Budget, Mixed Reviews [Sundance]

As we closed the books on another Sundance Film Festival, one in which the best film I saw was a documentary, Geeta Gandbhir’s staggering “The Perfect Neighbor,” sales have been sluggish and the overall feel of the fest needing a total overhaul is now more pronounced than ever before.

With that out of the way, who exactly is willing to dish out big money for Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman”? The Jennifer Lopez starring movie musical premiered to tepid reviews, and that’s with a reported budget of $60M. A distributor still hasn’t been found.

First off, why did this film cost $60M? Lopez is said to have taken a severe paycut to star in the film. When did Sundance suddenly decided to screen films this expensive? As far as I’m aware, it might be the costliest film to ever premiere at the fest.

It’s not just the mixed reactions, nor is it the fact that it won’t contend for any awards, but rather, and more importantly, it’s a movie musical, and one with very limited commercial prospects. It should have never been screened at Sundance. In fact, they should have waited for a studio to buy it before premiering it anywhere.

There was ample time to unveil ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman.’ The film only wrapped shooting seven months ago. Patience was needed. When the film premiered at the Eccles theaters on January 26, multiple buyers were in attendance including Searchlight and Mubi. Then the reviews popped up, and the movie is currently still up for sale from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity.

Based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel of the same title, ‘Kiss’ was first released as a film in 1985. Directed by Hector Babenco, it garnered critical acclaim and received four Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, the latter category won by the film’s lead, the late great William Hurt.

No such luck, or acclaim, for Condon’s film. Variety, IndieWire, Screen, NY Post, and THR weren’t all that impressed. It’ll be interesting to see where this one lands, if it lands at all, but the asking price has definitely diminished, and the the financiers will definitely not be making their money back on this one.