The Toronto Film Festival marked its completion Saturday with an unfortunate milestone: No major acquisitions deals have been announced since the festival kicked off its 10-day run.
It was far from a bust: Early awards contenders like Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” picked up steam, and on-the-ground audiences in Canada reveled in the joy of once again gathering to experience big movies like “Dune.” Nor is the overall film market lukewarm: Deals have been ironed out at a steady clip throughout the year.It raises the question: Why was nobody buying at Toronto?There’s certainly not one cause, though unsurprisingly Covid is an easy catchall to explain why TIFF was unable to maintain its status as the fall’s most important dealmaking venue this year.This marked the second year in a row that TIFF was a largely virtual affair, with a lineup just one-third the size of the 300-plus
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