Woody Allen’s 50th Film, ‘Coup de Chance,’ to Be Released in U.S. by MPI Media Group (Exclusive)

Jordan Hoffman
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Last week, The Hollywood Reporter reported that cinephiles were sharing “samizdat” links to Woody Allen’s latest film Coup de Chance from a French-to-Dutch-to-English translation, and New Yorkers were attending clandestine screenings at an East Village bar/event space. Today, THR can exclusively report that those who wish to see the 88-year-old’s latest project, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival in early September to (mostly) positive reviews, can do so without slinking around or needing secret codes.

MPI Media Group will release the picture, Allen’s 50th theatrically released feature film as a director, for North American markets on April 5, 2024. A digital/VOD release will follow on April 12.

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The movie, shot in France in French, stars Lou de Laâge (Respire, The Mad Woman’s Ball) as a self-aware trophy wife who reconnects with an old chum from the Lycée Français in New York, played by Niels Schneider (Heartbeats, Sybil). Melvil Poupaud (A Christmas Tale, In Bed with Victoria) is the businessman-cuckold who has a less-than-typically-French response to the concept of extra-marital affairs. The movie then follows plot mechanics similar to Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, Match Point, Cassandra’s Dream and Irrational Man.

Coup de Chance means “stroke of luck” in English. The film has already been released in many European markets, to the tune of $7.3 million.

The film was shot by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, Reds, The Last Emperor) making it the fifth collaboration between Allen and the 83-year-old Italian cinematographer.

MPI released Allen’s previous two films, Rifkin’s Festival in 2022 and A Rainy Day in New York in 2020. The earlier picture was initially financed as part of Allen’s 2016 deal with Amazon that resulted in a series of lawsuits after Amazon ended the relationship in 2017. (Amazon released the film Wonder Wheel and the streaming series Crisis in Six Scenes previously.)

Amazon canceled the deal amid the #MeToo movement of 2017, when public opinion surrounding Allen soured considerably due to a reappraisal of accusations of sexual assault made against him by his adopted stepdaughter, Dylan Farrow. Though the Connecticut state’s attorney did not charge Allen after a 1993 investigation, Allen remains a polarizing figure.

The filmmaker and Amazon reached an out-of-court settlement in November 2019.

Oddly enough, A Rainy Day in New York, which starred Timothée Chalamet and Selena Gomez, ended up being a surprise hit ($28.3 million) at the international box office, particularly in Asia. Due to the weirdness of the COVID pandemic, Rainy Day was even the No. 1 movie at the worldwide box office for a little while, which is, one could say, atypical for Woody Allen. Also, for a stretch, the only legal way to see the movie in America was if you were flying above it, watching in-flight entertainment. The film is now streaming with ads on Peacock, Tubi and Crackle — and can be rented for a small fee on several platforms including, oddly enough, Amazon.

The Chicago-based MPI Media Group dates back to 1976, and boasts all sorts of treasures in its home video catalog, like the complete Dark Shadows series packaged in a coffin. It also owns Dark Sky Films, which boasts recent horror hits like The House of the Devil, Stake Land, Deathgasm and Catfight. Try to imagine Woody Allen watching a movie called Deathgasm.

Coup de Chance was co-produced by Letty and Erika Aronson, Allen’s sister and niece.

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