So… the count of sales coming out of the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival is a dozen. Some would have the count at 14, but that would be counting 2 sales that undeniably happened before the fest. And I would say there are a couple more on that border. But 12. Out of about 80 films on sale.

The number is not terrible, given the market for markets. But I am fascinated by the sudden rush to put TIFF on our shoulders and to proclaim it as savior. (Note: I have been saying that TIFF is the most important festival in the world for years… and multiples more important to North America than Cannes.) Perspective, please.

Sony Pictures Classics will release 20 films this year. They picked up 2 “at” TIFF, one of which went into distribution in its native Canada this weekend (Incendies) and the other of which was a pre-fest deal with producer Robert Lantos, with whom they have a long happy relationship, for another Canadian film, Barney’s Version.

That’s it for the studio Dependents.

The are only two significant pick-ups out of TIFF so far this year, in my opinion. The first is Lionsgate grabbing Rabbit Hole, which will be very difficult to sell commercially, but could kick in a Best Actress nomination for Nicole Kidman. As noted here before, the sale was contingent on a 2010 release and campaign, which will leave LGF competing in the Actress category with its own For Colored Girls….

The second weighty pick-up is The Weinstein Company paying a preemptive $3 million for Dirty Girl, which is widely seen as a “we’re still here” deal. (The distributor also picked up Submarine, a well-liked tweener… exactly the kind of film the company has been unable to launch over the last few years.)

After that, we are into the significant, but definitively second tier of rising and wannabe distributors.

Oscilloscope is a beautiful place and picking up the next Kelly Kelly Reichardt film, Meek’s Cutoff, is no surprise. But getting Wendy and Lucy to almost $1 million was an achievement and this new film is generally seen as less accessible.

Roadside Attractions is hard charging and picked up the doc, Cool It, before TIFF. They are also involved with Lionsgate in picking up The Conspirator and Everything Must Go… but it’s not completely clear what these deals really are. Are they really Purchases or are they Service Deals, pieces of business in which Lionsgate will pay Roadside to handle distribution while they look for profit in DVD?

IFC, which is the digital-leaning version of Sony Classics, really, hasn’t hit $3 million with a film since they went to the VOD concept and that high grosser was the Joan Rivers doc. They should do fine for SUPER, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, and Peep World, but no one high profile film goes to a major fest hoping that IFC will be their home. Again, I think IFC does a great job in the context of their aspirations. I am an IFC fan. But in pure business terms, IFC is a really good state school that you end up at when your first choices say, “no.”

Anchor Bay got a theatrical to $6 million this last year, so their transition from DVD distrib to theatrical is going okay. They grabbed another dead child movie, one that’s more controversial (they must hope) than Rabbit Hole, Beautiful Boy, which sports two very strong performances by Maria Bello and Michael Sheen.

Then we have the genre arm of Magnolia, Magnet Releasing, grabbing the well-liked niche film I Saw The Devil. Great… but $200k is about their theatrical top.

And finally, two brand new distributors grabbed two films. One, Casino Jack, has a strong Kevin Spacey turn and a high-profile subject… and now, an unknown distributor in ATO Films.

Women Make Movies describes itself as a “national non-profit feminist media arts organization whose multicultural programs provide resources for both users and producers of media by women.” Great. But Kim Longinotto is a major documentarian and I am not sure that WMM, a terrific organization, counts as a Sale. It’s much more like a small video deal for Pink Saris that is being positioned as a Sale in a tough market.

And there will be more deals in the wake of the festival. Someone will take Beginners. When Errol Morris is ready to make a deal, Tabloid will be sold. Someone – probably Magnet – will bring 13 Assassins to the US. Daydream Nation, Henry’s Game, The Vanishing on 7th Street, The Ward, and The Whistelblower will all land somewhere, depending on the deals and the marketplace. Even What’s Wrong With Virginia, well hated as it is by so many, will find a place with a strong VOD plan.

What is interesting, to me, is that a few of these titles are the kind that were sure bets… and no longer are. A movie like The Whistleblower should be getting Oscar-chase interest for Rachel Weisz… but was late in the festival and may be too serious for buyers. Daydream Nation isn’t hard to see as Easier A. Screen Gems could take the elements of something like The Ward and open strong.

That is the story of TIFF 2010, in sales and otherwise… it is an effective domestic launching pad because it is so close to the release dates. And it is a great festival for people who love movies. But as a market, it is, like all the others, just not how movies are really sold anymore.

(edited 3:19p, as I didn’t know Potiche had been sold)

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