SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES ‘THE MIRACLE CLUB’ STARRING LAURA LINNEY, MAGGIE SMITH, AND KATHY BATES

NEW YORK (March 1, 2023) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today they have acquired all rights in the United States, Latin America, and a bundle of territories within Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe to THE MIRACLE CLUB, directed by Emmy Award^® nominee Thaddeus O’Sullivan and starring Academy Award^® nominee Laura Linney, Academy Award^® winners Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates, and Agnes O’Casey.

Produced by Chris Curling, Joshua Maurer, and Larry Bass, the film was shot in Dublin, Ireland throughout 2022 and is currently in post-production. THE MIRACLE CLUB reunites its leading actresses and Sony Pictures Classics, with all three having starred in previous films released by the distributor, including Linney in JINDABYNE (2006) and DRIVING LESSONS (2006), Smith in the titular role of THE LADY IN THE VAN (2015), and Bates in LOVE LIZA (2002) and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011).

In THE MIRACLE CLUB, there’s just one tantalizing dream for the women of Ballygar, a village in outer Dublin, to taste freedom and escape the gauntlet of domestic life: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that is a magnet for millions of visitors every year. With a little benevolent interference from their local priest, close friends Lily, Eileen and Dolly, who are funny, messy, flawed, and vocal, get their ticket to go on the humorous, blissful, and exhilarating journey of a lifetime.

Having never even left Dublin – let alone Ireland – the journey provides our heroines the chance to reflect on their own lives, with each of the women in search of their own personal miracles. But when they are joined by Chrissie, recently returned from a decades-long exile in America, bitter truths are exposed. It is only then, through the power of love and friendship, that deep wounds from the past are healed.

“What really enthralled me about the story is how three strong characters confront one another and then, by embracing truth, they understand that the miracle they have all been looking for is right in front of them: in the strength of their friendships and unshakeable togetherness,” says O’Sullivan. “What we have achieved together is to make an emotional movie that is truly joyous, uplifting, and aspirational.”

“Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, and Laura Linney in peak form, having it out with each other in director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s moving and humorous journey to Lourdes, promises a rich, rewarding experience for audiences everywhere,” added Sony Pictures Classics.

Embankment Films, who arranged production financing for Curling’s Zephyr Films through Ireland’s BCP and Ingenious Media, brokered the USA sale to Sony Pictures Classics, as well as earlier international pre-sales, including UK Lionsgate, Benelux WW Entertainment, Scandinavia Scanbox, Spain A Contracorriente, Australia Transmission, Canada Level, Greece Spentzos, Portugal Lusomundo, S Africa Filmfinity, Israel United, Middle East Frontrow, Poland Forum, Hungary ADS, and Airlines Cinesky. Sony Pictures Classics and Embankment Films have worked together on several films, including THE SON, THE FATHER, and THE WIFE.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES CLASSICS       

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard serve as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment they founded with Marcie Bloom in January 1992—which distributes, produces, and acquires independent films from around the world.  Barker and Bernard have released prestigious films that have won 41 Academy Awards® (37 of those at Sony Pictures Classics) and have garnered 186 Academy Award® nominations (160 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Picture nominations for THE FATHER, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHIPLASH, AMOUR, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, AN EDUCATION, CAPOTE, HOWARDS END, and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT      

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services. http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.