Just as Emma Stone's Poor Things revealed that it will hold its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival next month, word has come down that its domestic theatrical release has been delayed from September 8 to December 8, 2023.
The delay is due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike and the guild's restrictions on actors promoting their films. Hopefully, the delay to December is a sign that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) believes the strike will be resolved before Christmas.
Searchlight Pictures believes they have an awards contender on their hands and they don't want Stone's (The Amazing Spider-Man, La La Land, Cruella) inability to promote the film to hurt its award chances.
Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster) are reuniting after their work on 2018's The Favourite, which picked up several awards at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, the 72nd BAFTA Awards, the Golden Globes, and the 91st Academy Awards.
Poor Things is a surrealist science fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos from a screenplay by Tony McNamara (Cruella). The film is based on a 1992 novel of the same name, written by Alasdair Gray.
Poor Things Official Synopsis: From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe).
Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.