Focus Features Reteams with Wes Anderson and Indian Paintbrush for The Phoenician Scheme

Focus Features has landed the worldwide distribution rights to The Phoenician Scheme, the next film from Wes Anderson. In addition to directing, Anderson wrote the script with the story co-written by Roman Coppola. The deal marks the third major collaboration between Focus, Anderson, and Indian Paintbrush, who also partnered on Anderson’s most recent feature, Asteroid City, and the 2012 hit Moonrise Kingdom, which were both written by Anderson and Coppola.

Focus will distribute the film domestically with a limited release on May 30, 2025 and wide expansion on June 6th. Universal Pictures International is handling international distribution.

The Phoenician Scheme. The story of a family and a family business. Starring: Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda, one of the richest men in Europe; Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl, his daughter/a nun; Michael Cera as Bjorn Lund, their tutor. With: Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Phoenician Scheme was produced by Anderson for his American Empirical Pictures banner alongside longtime collaborators Steven Rales of Indian Paintbrush, Jeremy Dawson, and John Peet. The movie was filmed in Germany in association with Studio Babelsberg.