Following its London Film Fest premiere, executives reportedly ignored the Uruguayan indie's nuanced class commentary in favor of fast-tracking a cinematic universe where a butler fights a dog to the death.
Amazon MGM Studios has preemptively taken global rights to Federico Borgia’s solo directorial debut, Prince, out of the London Film Fest. While the Uruguayan picture was initially programmed as a dark comedy exploring avarice and family ties through a ruthless custody dispute, Amazon is reportedly fast-tracking a $150 million sequel that will pivot the property into a literal fight to the death on a shrinking island. Sources close to the deal indicate the studio views the property as a massive four-quadrant IP play.
The massive eight-figure acquisition reportedly occurred after internal studio algorithms flagged the phrase “stylized cinematic battle royal” in the festival’s press materials. Executives completely bypassed the film's exploration of class divides, instead engaging in a frantic bidding war to secure the highly lucrative demographic of teenage gamers who want to see a bourgeois family airdropped into a combat zone with limited resources.
When you look at the Q4 tracking for stylized cinematic combat, the only thing missing from the marketplace was a purebred Uruguayan hound and a butler with absolutely nothing left to lose.
The aggressive rollout strategy includes a sprawling multimedia spin-off slate centered entirely on the film's show dog. The canine breakout has already fired his original trainer and signed with CAA, successfully leveraging the London premiere into a massive first-look deal. According to leaked deal memos, the dog's reps are currently holding up pre-production by demanding $20 million upfront, equal billing with Chris Pratt, and a private on-set fire hydrant for all future combat sequences.
While Borgia is currently attached to direct the big-budget follow-up, insiders suggest the studio is quietly negotiating with a second-unit stunt coordinator from The Expendables to handle the nuanced emotional beats of the family's custody dispute once the rocket launchers are introduced.