Sundance 2012: Brisk Sales So Far, More Deals Expected Soon

As the 2012 Sundance Film Festival nears the end of its first week, acquisitions activity remains brisk and steady. As of mid-day Wednesday, eight distributors had pulled down ten program titles, including four thrillers, two documentaries, two dramas and two comedies.

PHOTOS: The Scene At Sundance Film Festival 2012

Films still fielding serious interest and likely to close deals relatively soon include Safety Not Guaranteed, Simon Killer, Liberal Arts, Smashed, The Pact and Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap.

Wednesday night premieres include the Premieres section films Price Check, starring Parker Posey, and California Solo, starring Robert Carlyle. Both will be unveiled at the Eccles Theatre.

Wednesday morning, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions closed a deal to pick up U.S. rights to Arbitrage for a day-and-date theatrical-VOD release, much as they did for the 2011 Sundance thriller Margin Call. The sale price was just north of $2 million.

PHOTOS: 10 Of Sundance 2012's Films With Buzz - The Fest's Best Bets

Other recent sales include Red Lights to Millennium Entertainment (U.S. rights, just under $4 million); Celeste and Jesse Forever to Sony Pictures Classics (North American, Latin American, Eastern European rights, around $2 million); For a Good Time, Call… to Focus Features (worldwide rights, $2 million); and Beasts of the Southern Wild to Fox Searchlight, which also grabbed worldwide rights to The Surrogate for just under $6 million Monday.

Sunday, LD Distribution picked up the thriller Black Rock for just over $1 million, and CBS Films acquired the drama The Words for a combined deal valued at $3.5 million. Competition documentaries Searching For Sugar Man and The Queen of Versailles found homes at SPC and Magnolia Pictures, respectively, on Friday.

Email: Jay.Fernandez@THR.com; Daniel.Miller@THR.com

 Twitter: @Writer730; @DanielNMiller