Focus Features has one more awards contender to add to its slate this season. The studio announced that in a long-rumored move, Todd Haynes’ “Dark Waters” will open on Nov. 22 in limited release before expanding on Nov. 29. And with Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway toplining, it immediately becomes another late non-festival Oscar player along with “Cats,” “Bombshell,” “1917” and “Queen & Slim.”
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“Inspired” by a true story, Focus says the picture finds Ruffalo playing “a tenacious attorney” who “uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths due to one of the world’s largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything – his future, his family, and his own life – to expose the truth.” It’s unclear how Hathaway and co-stars Tim Robbins, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, William Jackson Harper, and Bill Pullman figure in the film’s storyline.
“Waters” was produced and financed by Participant Pictures and is the company’s third picture with Focus following 2012’s “Promised Land” and “On the Basis of Sex” last year. In February, the studio won its first Best Picture Oscar for “Green Book” which Universal Studios distributed. It also initially financed Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” which won three Academy Awards at the same ceremony. Netflix acquired the drama in the post-production process. Participant also co-financed the acclaimed Sundance thriller “Monos” which is expected to be Columbia’s International Film submission.
Ruffalo is a three-time Oscar nominee for his work in “The Kids Are All Right,” “Foxcatcher” and Best Picture winner “Spotlight.” He recently starred once again as the Hulk in “Avengers: Endgame,” now the highest grossing movie of all-time, and is currently portraying two roles in Derek Cianfrance’s “I Know This Much Is True” alongside Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis, and Karen Gillan. The limited series is expected to debut on HBO next year.
Hathaway was last seen in “The Hustle” and recently finished both Robert Zemeckis‘ adaptation of “The Witches” and Dee Rees’ “The Last Thing He Wanted” for Netflix.
Haynes is coming off 2017’s “Wonderstruck” which was both a critical and box office disappointment following the Oscar-winning success of “Carol” in 2016. He was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for “Far From Heaven” in 2003. “Dark Waters” is the third film in a row he has not received as screenwriting credit.
Besides “Waters,” Focus has the historical drama “Harriet,” “Downton Abbey” and last Spring’s “The Mustang” on deck as awards contenders this season. It should be noted that “Waters'” late November release date makes it a prime candidate to premiere at the 2019 AFI Film Fest in early Nov.
“Dark Waters” opens in limited release on Nov. 22.