Rental Family, Beef director Hikari’s comedy drama and potential awards contender starring Oscar winner Brendan Fraser and Shogun’s Takehiro Hira, has been scheduled to open through Searchlight Pictures on November 21.
The film follows Fraser as a struggling actor in Tokyo who begins working for a Japanese ‘rental family’ as a stand-in to offer support in clients’ lives, gaining insights along the way. Sight Unseen and Knockonwood are the production companies.
Hikari directed episodes of the Netflix show Beef and HBO Max’s Tokyo Vice as well as 2019 Berlinale Panorama audience award (fiction) winner 37 Seconds. She co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Blahut.
Fraser won the lead actor Oscar for his portrayal as a lonely, estranged father in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale in 2023.
It was unclear at time of writing if Rental Family will secure a festival launch before the official release date. If Searchlight is eying a splashy world premiere berth, the obvious candidates for awards hopefuls are the early fall trifecta of Venice, Telluride, and Toronto, with New York, London and AFI Fest coming later in the season.
Searchlight’s A Real Pain from Jesse Eisenberg garnered two Oscar nominations earlier this year, winning best supporting actor for Kieran Culkin. The studio will open Jay Roach comedy The Roses starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch on August 29.