Body Horror Cannes Competition Film ‘The Substance,’ Starring Margaret Qualley, Acquired by MUBI

The first major pre-sale out of the Cannes competition has happened, with director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance” now acquired by MUBI.

The global film distributor, production company, and streaming service has acquired worldwide rights for “Revenge” director Fargeat’s upcoming feature, a Working Title Films production, that premieres in competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The festival runs May 14-25.

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MUBI will retain all rights in North America, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America, and Benelux, where they will release the film theatrically this year. MUBI has also acquired the rights for Turkey and India. The Match Factory is handling sales for all other territories.

Here’s the elusive “synopsis” from the Cannes Film Festival official site: “HAVE YOU EVER DREAMT OF A BETTER VERSION OF YOURSELF? You, only better in every way. You should try this new product, it’s called The Substance. IT CHANGED MY LIFE. With the Substance, you can generate another you: younger, more beautiful, more perfect. You just have to share time — one week for one, one week for the other. A perfect balance of seven days each… Easy right? If you respect the balance…what could possibly go wrong?”

“The Substance” is one of four films in the main competition directed by women this year, and one of the only genre entries.

“The Substance” stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid. The director of photography on the film is Benjamin Kracun (“Promising Young Woman,” “Beast”), co-editors are Fargeat, Jerome Eltabet (“Revenge”), and Valentin Feron. The music is composed by Raffertie (“I May Destroy You”), production design is led by Stanislas Reydellet (“Le Bal Des Folles”), and costume design is by Emmanuelle Youchnovski (“La Belle Epoque”).

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