What an exciting duo Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega will make in the upcoming The Gallerist. Roadside Attraction and Vertical acquired the rights for its distribution in the U.S. In addition to the high profile stars the rest of the cast is composed by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis, Daniel Brühl, Charli XCX, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Below is the detailed press release and don’t forget to mark your calendar for a December 4th movie night!

Roadside Attractions and Vertical have jointly acquired U.S. distribution rights to The Gallerist, the breakout crime comedy from director Cathy Yan (Birds of Prey, Dead Pigs).  The film from MRC stars Academy Award®-winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan, May December), Jenna  Ortega (Wednesday, Scream), Academy Award®- winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers, Only Murders in the Building), Emmy Award®-winner Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, American Fiction), Emmy Award®-winner  Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover trilogy, Between Two Ferns), Daniel Brühl (Rush, All Quiet on the Western Front), Global Pop Icon and Grammy winner Charli XCX (Crash, Brat), and Academy Award®-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago, Wednesday). A wickedly funny script anchored by standout performances from its all-star ensemble, including Galifianakis’ hilarious portrayal as an art influencer.  The film will open December 4^th 2026.

Set against the glittering excess of Art Basel Miami, The Gallerist follows an ambitious gallery owner (Portman) clinging to the edge of elite society and desperate to prove herself on the heels of a nasty separation, facing mounting financial hardship. What begins as an impromptu act of survival—when she conspires to pass off an accidental corpse as the centerpiece of her debut show—spirals into a sly game of deception, spectacle, and ticking-clock chaos as influencers and police converge. Will she end up famous, a felon, or both?

Written by James Pedersen (“High Heat”), the film is produced by Ash Sarohia (“Killing Gunther”), Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman (“May December,” “Arco”), Jonathan King (“Spotlight,” “Roma”, “Dreamgirls”), Tom McCarthy (“Stillwater”, “The Loudest Voice”), Rae Baron (“Stillwater”, “Alaska Daily”) and Zola Elgart Glassman (“High Heat”).

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MRC is the studio behind the film, as well as the recently released Wuthering Heights, G20 and All of You, and the upcoming The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, A Place in Hell, The Best is Yet To Come, Unabomber, and Eloise and 2023’s Saltburn, American Fiction, and Fair Play. MRC is also known for hit TV series such as Poker Face, Terminal List, Ted, Ozark and House of Cards. 

“Cathy Yan’s wildly original film was a winner for us at Sundance; she assembled a phenomenal ensemble cast led by Natalie Portman’s standout performance as a woman at the intersection of art and crime, revealing a dazzling comic edge along the way. It’s as fun as it is terrifying,” comments Roadside Attractions Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff and Vertical CEO and Partner Peter Jarowey.

Cathy Yan’s debut feature, Dead Pigs, which she wrote and directed, won the Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, among other accolades. She went on to direct the critically acclaimed Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Yan also directed an episode of the HBO series Succession, earning an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

The deal was negotiated by Roadside Attractions Co-President Howard Cohen, CEO and Partner Peter Jarowey and SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi on behalf of Vertical and XXXX on behalf of the filmmakers.

Source: Roadside Attractions and Vertical

About ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Academy Award® nominations. The company has released such critical and commercial hits as The Last Showgirl; Emily the Criminal; Somewhere in Queens; Academy Award® short-listed documentary Beyond Utopia; Academy Award® short-listed International Feature The Monk and the Gun; Bob Trevino Likes It; Lee;Exhibiting Forgiveness; The Courier; Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It; Judy; The Peanut Butter Falcon; Manchester by the Sea; Love & Friendship; Mr. Holmes; Love & Mercy; A Most Wanted Man; Dear White People; Mud; Winter’s Bone; The Cove; Margin Call; and Super Size Me. Roadside Attractions is known for innovative strategies that maximize the value of their films via theatrical box office success.

Upcoming films include SXSW Audience Award Winner and Sundance Film Festival charmer, Cookie Queens; Buddy, Casper Kelly’s debut horror feature film starring Delaney Quinn and Emmy Winners Cristin Milioti and Keegan-Michael Key and Crawlers, the spider-infested horror thriller helmed by Angel Gómez Hernández.

Recent releases include: Lucky Strike, the gripping WWII action thriller directed by Rod Davis Lurie, starring Scott Eastwood, Golden Globe® and Emmy Nominee Colin Hanks, and Academy Award® and Golden Globe® nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor; this year’s Academy Award®-nominated short films, presented by three-time winner Taika Waititi; Sight & Sound’s A Great Awakening; Tow, an inspirational true story brought to life by Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Rose Byrne; H is for Hawk, starring Golden Globe® winner Claire Foy and Academy Award® nominee Brendan Gleeson; 2026 Spirit Award nominees Twinless, starring James Sweeney and Dylan O’Brien and Dust Bunny, the fantastical directorial debut by Bryan Fuller, led by screen legends Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver and Bill Condon’s visionary new interpretation of the Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical Kiss Of The Spider Woman.

About VERTICAL

Vertical’s current and upcoming slate includes Padraic McKinley’s The Weight starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe; Ben Gregor’s The Magic Faraway Tree starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy; Mark Hyman’s Pendulum starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Phoebe Dynevor, Norman Reedus, Jena Malone, and Jacki Weaver and produced by Darren Aronofsky; Andrew Niccol’s sequel Lords of War starring Nicolas Cage and Bill Skarsgård; and Donald Petrie’s The Last Resort starring Daisy Ridley and Alden Ehrenreich; recent titles include Alice Winocour’s Couture starring Angelina Jolie; Oliver Assayas’ The Wizard of the Kremlin starring Paul Dano, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, and Jeffrey Wright; and Luc Besson’s Dracula starring Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, and Zoë Bleu.

 For more information about Vertical, go to www.Vert-Ent.com.