In the first deal during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, Neon has picked up worldwide rights to the queer horror film “Leviticus” following its premiere in the Midnight section.
Writer/director Adrian Chiarella’s film follows two teenage boys who “must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most – each other.”
The movie was one of the early critical favorites at this year’s festival, and Neon swooped in and will now release the film in theaters later this year. Neon will also handle international sales rights to the movie.
This is technically the second deal out of this year’s Sundance after Shudder picked up the horror film “Saccharine” before the festival started. Olivia Wilde’s raucous comedy “The Invite” has also sparked a bidding war and is expected to sell imminently as the 2026 market is definitely looking warmer than last year.
“Leviticus” stars Joe Bird (“Talk To Me”), Stacy Clausen (“Crazy Fun Park”), Jeremy Blewitt (“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart”), Ewen Leslie (“The Nightingale”), Davida McKenzie (“Silent Night”), Nicholas Hope (“Bad Boy Bubby”), Zahra Newman (“Thirteen Lives”) and Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland”).
In his positive review, TheWrap critic Chase Hutchinson compared “Leviticus” to “It Follows” and praised its emotional hook: “Chiarella’s film is small in scope but shattering in emotional range, slowly burrowing under your skin. Once it makes its home there, there is no shaking free of its haunting, heartbreaking and surprisingly harmonious vision.”
The film is produced by “Talk to Me” producers Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton at Causeway Films and Hannah Ngo. Causeway Films also financed the film.
The deal was negotiated by Sarah Colvin for Neon and Will Maxfield and Dab McIntosh WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers.
