Deadline:

In the first big deal of the 2021 virtual Sundance Film Festival, Apple has landed worldwide rights to CODA, for a number just north of $25 million. That sets a new a Sundance acquisitions record — above the $22.5 million that Palm Springs received last year from Hulu/Neon. But this time, all the premiere watching and all night auctioning was done far from the slopes of Park City. It came down to a pitched battle between Apple and Amazon.

Apple and Amazon continue to raise the bar in content acquisition cost. Deep pockets, both. Curious how Apple’s team measures the value of a film, how they make the bid/no bid decision. Is the value of the film a no brainer? Is this about keeping a film out of the competition’s hands?

The funniest part of this deal was this tweet from Panic founder Cable Sasser (Tweet spoiler here).