Fox Searchlight has announced a May 13, 2016 U.S. release date for A Bigger Splash, Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s mystery starring Tilda Swinton (Trainwreck), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Skyfall), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), and Matthias Schoenaerts (Far From the Madding Crowd).
Guadagnino previously teamed up with Swinton on critically admired Oscar nominated 2010 melodrama I Am Love. David Kajganich (The Invasion) penned the screenplay for this remake of Jacques Deray’s 1969 film, La Piscine. The story revolves around a rock star and her partner, Marianne and Paul (Swinton and Shoenaerts), whose vacation on a remote island is interrupted by the arrival of Marianne’s ex-lover and his daughter, Harry and Penelope (Fiennes and Johnson). Sexual tensions flare and jealousies arise, leading to dangerous consequences on the island.
While the release date closes out hopes on a 2015 awards bid for the title, the title perhaps might be a better fit as early summer counter-programming. Fox Searchlight has had success previously with early May bids for past titles including The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), Belle (2014) and this years’ Far From the Madding Crowd.
Swinton is readying her Marvel debut in Doctor Strange and Fiennes will return to screens later this year in Spectre; both actors will also appear in Hail, Caesar!, the latest film from Ethan and Joel Coen. Johnson, on the cusp of a major breakout thanks to her turn as Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey, will next co-star in Black Mass starring Johnny Depp. Schoenaerts, co-star of Far From the Madding Crowd opposite Carey Mulligan earlier this year, will next be seen in the awards hopeful The Danish Girl.
The hotly anticipated film will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 6th. A Bigger Splash will make its way to theaters on May 13, 2016.