After an astounding 8-minute standing ovation for Pablo Larraín’s newest picture the biopic, Maria, starring Angelina Jolie as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, wrapped up its international premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The announcement followed that Netflix would be handling the distribution of the film in the U.S, while other companies have each bought up the sale of the distribution rights across Europe with about six companies already signing contracts to bring the biopic to theaters.
Studiocanal will be bringing the film to the U.K., Germany, and Poland but not France which will be handled by ARP for that country. 01 Distribution has announced the film as part of their lineup for Italy, with Sun Distribution setting up for the Spain, Portugal, and South Africa releases.
Maria Callas was one of the most beloved and iconic Opera singers of European theaters with adoring fans still. The film follows her final years as she steps away from the spotlight in order to rediscover herself and joy. Larraín claimed in an interview with Hollywood Reporter that the film was his “most personal project” and that he was honored and excited to be working with Netflix and others to bring it to audiences outside the festival circuits.
Joining Jolie in the cast are Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valeria Golino.