Film sales and finance outfit Global Constellation has closed a first raft of sales on Cannes breakout animated comedy “Jim Queen,” which will be screening at the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival.
Following its buzzy premiere in Cannes’ Midnight Screening slot, the film has sold to Italy (I Wonder Pictures), Benelux (O’Brother), Germany (Capelight Pictures), Switzerland (Praesens), Austria (Polyfilm), Spain (Filmin), Israel (Lev Cinema), Australia and New Zealand (Madman), Canada (Photon Films), Brazil (Pandora Filmes/Belas Artes Grupo), Mexico (Pimienta Films) and Taiwan (Creative Century), with additional territories, including the U.S., in negotiation.
The Jokers Films released the film in French theaters on June 17, where it debuted at No. 3 at the box office, behind “Toy Story 5” and “Backrooms.” The film attracted over 16,000 admissions across 95 screens on its opening day and surpassed 54,000 admissions ($450,000 equivalent) during its first weekend of release.
The film is directed by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané, and produced by Bobbypills’ David Alric and Arthur Delabays.
Hailed by Variety’s Guy Lodge as a “hilarious adult animation on literal steroids” and “infectiously giddy,” the film sparked an enthusiastic audience reaction in Cannes with the Grand Théâtre Lumière “erupting in laughter, breaking into song, and ultimately delivering a raucous late-night standing ovation,” Global Constellation stated, inspiring Cannes director Thierry Frémaux to say: “ ‘Jim Queen’ was one of the most beautiful screenings in the festival’s history.”
A wild comedic ride through identity, fame and queer culture in crisis, the film tells the story of Jim, the ultimate Gym Queen, influencer and object of universal thirst, who reigns supreme on the Paris gay scene. But when a bizarre virus called Heterosis starts turning gay men straight, his reign ends overnight. Unfollowed, abandoned and stripped of status, Jim is left with just one unlikely ally: Lucien, a devoted scrawny twink with more loyalty than clout. Together, they plunge into the queer chaos of the Marais, chasing a rogue doctor rumored to have a cure.
Co-written with Simon Balteaux and Brice Chevillard, “Jim Queen” is produced by Bobbypills, one of Europe’s most cutting-edge adult animation studios. Bobbypills recently produced James Gunn’s “Creature Commandos,” the first television series and first official chapter of the DC Universe, DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation. Their credits also include “Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix,” produced with Ubisoft Film & Television for Netflix, as well as the adult animated series “Crisis Jung” and “Vermin,” both now streaming on Netflix.
Nguyen and Athané, both Gobelins alumni, bring extensive experience across animated features, series and games, with key credits on acclaimed features including “The Summit of the Gods,” “Ernest & Celestine,” “The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales,” “The Swallows of Kabul,” “The Rabbi’s Cat” and “The Red Turtle.”
“Jim Queen” is co-produced by Umedia (“The Count of Monte Cristo,” “The Night of the Zoocalypse”), with the support of Eurimages (Council of Europe), Avance sur recettes (CNC), la région Nouvelle Aquitaine, le département de la Charente and la région Réunion.
It is executive produced by Moby and Lindsay Hicks for Little Walnut in the U.S., and Katarzyna Janiak and Jacek Świgost for Timeless Studios.
“Jim Queen” is one of three animated features represented by Global Constellation at Annecy this year, alongside Sébastien Laudenbach’s “Viva Carmen,” which is screening in competition following its premiere in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and Reza Memari’s “The Last Whale Singer,” showing in the Annecy Presents section.
