Netflix’s last-minute decision to reduce the number of copies of the feature film from 400 to 250 God’s hand (È stata la mano di Dio) by Paolo Sorrentino arouses the anger of many exhibitors in the “Art house” category who are suddenly deprived of significant anticipated income.
Sorrentino’s film (The great bellezza, Youth), which is Italy’s representative in the Oscar race for best international film, screened in 250 theaters with the help of local distributor Lucky Red. This release precedes the film’s arrival by three weeks in streaming on the Netflix platform. Suddenly deprived of the copy they expected, several small operators expressed their anger.
According to Variety, Lucky Red executive Andrea Occhipinti told media that such an agreement on 400 copies of the film never existed. “We have never signed such an agreement,” says Andrea Occhipinti. An output of 250 copies is no small output. “
Starring Fillippo Scotti, Toni Servillo and Teresa Saponangelo, God’s hand is a poignant autobiographical tale in which the director recounts how he lost his life following a carbon monoxide leak because he went to see a football game. His parents died in this accident.
The film won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in September. It is due out in a few theaters on December 3 in Quebec to then be broadcast on Netflix on December 15.