Personal Shopper, Olivier Assayas’s new film about a young American woman in Paris who’s working as a—you guessed it—personal shopper while simultaneously struggling with the death of her brother, was met with plenty of boos during its premiere at the Cannes last month. Though that kind of response isn’t exactly uncommon at the festival, it was an early sign that the film would be a tough sell.
Variety reports Monday that Universal Pictures picked up distribution rights for the film in several regions—including theatrical and VOD releases in Scandinavia, Latin America and Eastern Europe next year—but makes no mention of the film’s U.S. release date.
Though it’s safe to assume the film will eventually receive a proper release stateside (like all of Assayas’s recent films, including last year’s Stewart-starring Clouds of Sils Maria, IFC has purchased the distribution rights), it wouldn’t be the first time a high-profile director and star struggled to market their film to American audiences. Just last year, Gus Van Sant’s Matthew McConaughey-led disaster The Sea of Trees was met with a forest of bad reviews at Cannes, and is currently sitting on a shelf somewhere—perhaps in Van Sant’s garage—unable to find a buyer.
When discussing the Personal Shopper’s less than enthusiastic reception, a friend who saw it (and loved it) at Cannes said the hesitation is understandable. “I mean, there are ghosts in it,” he told me. “Actual ghosts.”
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported on the film’s release status. Personal Shopper will be distributed in the US by IFC Films, though no release date has been announced.
Image via screengrab.
DISCUSSION
Maybe the audience wasn’t booing her, but repeating the ghost’s dialogue?