Mindy Kaling’s ‘Late Night’ Gets Summer Theatrical Release From Amazon

Amazon Studios said Thursday it will bow Late Night in theaters nationwide on June 7, with the news coming after the streaming service made a splashy deal at the Sundance Film Festival for the comedy directed by Nisha Ganatra and written and produced by and starring Mindy Kaling.

Emma Thompson plays Katherine Newbury, a legendary late-night talk show host whose world is turned upside down when she hires her only female staff writer (Kaling). Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision has unexpectedly hilarious consequences as two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline.

John Lithgow, Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, Denis O’Hare, Reid Scott, Ike Barinholtz, John Early, Paul Walter Hauser and Amy Ryan co-star.

Deadline broke the news in Park City when Amazon landed the pic after an all-night bidding battle. While there have been bigger worldwide rights deals made at past Sundance fests — The Birth of A Nation went for $17.5 million several years back — it was the rare U.S. only deal to hit eight figures.

The deal was bigger than Amazon’s $12 million Sundance buy for The Big Sick, which included the U.S. and some other territories. That film became a commercial breakout hit.

Amazon boss Jennifer Salke said at the time of the Big Sick deal that a theatrical release was planned; Amazon has been more willing to do that with its films than say rival Netflix, which this awards season put its prestige pics including Roma and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs into cinemas.