MRC has established itself as a champion of innovative filmmakers such as Edgar Wright, Emerald Fennell, and Chloe Demont. However, the films offered by these directors defy classification, which poses a challenge in itself.
“A lot of the films we make don’t have a lot of obvious comps, and they tend to be very difficult to get properly evaluated in the market,” admits Bry Adler, co-president of film at MRC. “It works because something like ‘Wuthering Heights’ is an R-rated period romance drama, but describing it that way doesn’t reflect how distinctive it might be. Or you can’t put ‘Cruel Intentions’ and ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ in the same category, but that’s what ‘Saltburn’ is. The system doesn’t calculate what we make.”
Rather than following the latest trends, MRC pursues the boldest talent. It’s a strategy that has worked well for the company, which has been behind such box-office hits and critical successes as Wright’s Baby Driver, De Montt’s Fair Play, Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, and Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and Saltburn. There have been some failures – the less said about “The Dark Tower” and “Mortal Engines,” the better – but its track record is enviable and established MRC as an artist-friendly haven.
The company also went through a period of growth, going from releasing 2-4 movies a year to releasing 8-10 movies a year. This year, the company released Wuthering Heights, which grossed $242 million worldwide, and has six films scheduled to be released in theaters or streamed by the end of 2026. That includes De Montt’s workplace thriller A Place in Hell, starring Michelle Williams and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Prime Video romantic comedy “Love Hypothesis” starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman. The Unabomber is a Netflix crime drama starring Jacob Tremblay, Russell Crowe, and Shailene Woodley. There’s also John Turturro’s acclaimed character portrait, “The Only Alive Pickpocket in New York,” which premiered at Sundance and Sony Pictures Classics plans to release it in theaters during awards season.
“We’re still waiting to find out the dates, but this fall is going to be a very busy fall for us,” says Jonathan Golfman, co-president of film at MRC. “That’s what we’ve been building towards.”
The big hurdle Golfman and Adler faced was finding enough projects that were radical and distinctive enough to produce.
“The biggest problem in growing our business is the lack of good filmmakers bringing new films to market at a steady enough pace,” Golfman says. “Then it’s how you present it. Each of these films is a delicate snowflake in its own right, so a lot of time and effort goes into making sure they’re the best versions of themselves.”
Often that means having difficult conversations with the director about what’s working and what needs to be left on the cutting room floor. Fennell praises Golfman and Adler’s “advice, taste and intuition.”
“We can also be very honest with each other, often to the point of being rude, but that’s the only way to make something good,” Fennell says. “And they both really make me laugh.”
The murder mystery “Knives Out,” written and directed by Johnson, introduced audiences to the flamboyant private investigator Benoît Blanc. It was a huge box office success when it was released in theaters in 2019, and two sequels premiered on Netflix in an unprecedented $450 million deal. However, as Johnson was preparing for his first film, he kept getting turned down until Golfman and Adler heard his proposal.
“They took a risk with that movie,” says Ram Bergman, producer of “Knives Out” and founder of T Street Productions. “No one was making murder mysteries back then, so people were skeptical and said it was musty. But from the moment they read the book, Bly and Johnny said, ‘We believe in this, we believe in you guys, and the rest is history.'”
Wuthering Heights, from left: Jacob Elordi, Meagher Robbie, 2026. © Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection
©Warner Bros./Courtesy of Everett Collection
Theatrical box office revenue will increase 13% in 2026, with films such as “Project Hail Mary,” “Michael,” “Obsession” and “Backrooms” that are not part of an established series driving ticket sales. Golfman and Adler believe this is a sign that the business is changing. With a slew of superhero movies, reboots, and spin-offs, moviegoers are looking for stories that don’t make them feel bad about retrospections or rehashes.
“I’m excited,” Adler says. “Audiences are craving original work, and we’re trying to live up to that. When something feels unique and fresh, it’s working. It feels like series and sequels are hitting a wall.”
So far, MRC has partnered with major studios and streamers. But they are also considering starting their own in-house distribution division, as another independent studio, Black Bear, did last year.
“We went all in with the idea,” admits Golfman. “The concern we had was that it would be difficult to compete with the majors. They’ve been in the majors for a long time and have built great teams and infrastructure. They have the ability to release movies all over the world.”
The problem is that Hollywood’s footprint is shrinking due to a wave of mergers. Fox has already merged with Disney, and MGM has been acquired by Amazon. Adler and Golfman are concerned about what the impending sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount will mean for their business model.
“As an industry, it’s unfortunate that we could potentially lose distributors,” Adler said. “We want to get as many good, healthy buyers as possible.”
Moving forward, MRC has several exciting projects for both men in various stages of post-production and development, including Bill Hader’s feature directorial debut, They Know. “Even though it belongs to the horror genre, it still has some humor,” teases Golfman.
The goal is to continue to find projects that feel, in their words, “auteuristic,” and that approach the subject matter from a clear perspective, rather than simply supporting it because it’s in a supposedly popular genre.
“The worst movies we’ve ever made tended to be when the impetus for making the movie felt like a smart business decision, but there wasn’t a lot of creative passion for it within the company,” Adler says. “The rule is that the person here has to really love the project and be passionate about it.”
