ASTEROID CITY (2022): Wes Anderson’s Latest Movie Gets Picked Up by Focus Features

New Wes Anderson Movie Finds Home at Focus Features

Wes Anderson‘s highly anticipated upcoming movie, Asteroid City, has been picked up for distribution by Focus Features.

Last year, Wes Anderson directed one of the ten best movies of 2021 with his hilarious comedy, The French Dispatch. Its distributor, Searchlight Pictures, dropped the ball (even in pandemic times), failing to get a sizable final box-office tally and Oscar nominations for Anderson’s masterpiece. Now, the ball’s in Focus Features’ court as the studio is taking on the filmmaker’s latest picture, Asteroid City.

This news article could fill a lot of the space of the requisite word count with a listing of the new movie’s stars but to list them all would be overkill as it’s a given whenever Anderson makes a movie, it’s a star-studded affair to remember. To keep it brief, big names such as Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Carell, Maya Hawke and Jeff Goldblum are all on board alongside Anderson regulars like Jason Schwartzman, Jeffrey Wright, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton, to name a few. Roman Coppola has co-written the script with Anderson and it’s a movie about the meaning of life which is not surprising given Anderson’s past films’ story lines.

Focus Features and Wes Anderson are nothing short of a dream team if the results from the last time they joined forces is any indication. In 2012, the pair collaborated on the great tale of young love, Moonrise Kingdom, which made an astonishing $45 million at the domestic box-office. Compare that to the disappointing $16 million domestic take of The French Dispatch and you’ll see that Searchlight didn’t get the full potential of Anderson’s audience demographic in terms of that group actually showing up at theaters. The pandemic was there this time, to be sure, but the product was so terrific, it should have done much better.

Anderson’s new picture is set in 1955 but, like all of Anderson’s work, the less you know going in, the better. I didn’t read the whole synopsis of the new upcoming film but glanced that it was about “a scholarly competition.” That sounds like it has the potential for classic Anderson material to be embodied throughout the picture.

Tom Hanks is coming off a terrific turn in Elvis which has divided audiences. By appearing in Anderson’s new movie, he may just help remind Academy members to vote for his supporting performance in Elvis which is one of the greatest roles of the year thus far.

Anderson is also due for another Oscar nod and it’s in Focus Features’ hands this time out to make sure it happens. Let’s hope Anderson has made another great film with Asteroid City and that it’s the picture that gets the filmmaker his just due at the Academy Awards. If it’s as good as it should be, Focus Features will most likely help Anderson get the recognition he so rightfully deserves.

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