The 2024 body-horror film The Substance, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, seems to have made an unprecedented impact amongst genre fans as well as at the box office, even producer Eric Fellner seemed to be part of the crowd not exactly aware of the hit the streaming service and distributor Mubi had on its hands.
When speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Fellner had the following to say about the extrasensory horror trip that serves as a unique adaptation, and then desecration of, female beauty standards: “I personally didn’t totally understand just quite how full-on it was going to be. But I think it’s a good thing. It’s definitely brought people to the cinema, which is great…And for a company like Mubi to be bringing people to the cinema, it’s fantastic because it shows that both — streaming platforms and theatrical — can coexist and can work well together.”
Universal Pictures originally passed on the film’s distribution rights, worrying that the film’s visceral nature might turn off general audiences. Rights then went to Mubi, which in its theatrical release, was able to gross $30 million on less than a $20 million budget.
The Substance was written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, and follows an aging Hollywood starlet Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) as she navigates the consequences of taking the titular drug, in which she produces a younger, more desirable version of herself (Qualley).
Finishing his take on The Substance‘s success, Fellner said, “it made us realize that if it’s really out there, people are interested, they don’t get turned off. Films need to cost less money, and they need to be bolder in that space.”
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