New Line Wins Remake Rights to Italy's Oscar Entry 'The Spiral' and Will Release Paolo Strippoli's Original in North America

New Line Cinema has won a competitive bid for the English-language remake rights to Paolo Strippoli's horror thriller The Spiral, Italy's Best International Feature Oscar entry, Deadline reported Nov. 12. The deal also covers distribution of the Italian original in the U.S., Canada and several Asian markets, with a limited release planned before year-end.

Nov 13, 2026 - 14:19

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New Line Cinema has won a competitive bid for the English-language remake rights to The Spiral, Paolo Strippoli's psychological horror thriller and Italy's official submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, Deadline reported on Nov. 12. The film is titled L'estranea in Italy.

The deal covers development of a feature-length English-language film based on the original. It also gives New Line distribution rights to the Italian-language film in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, according to Deadline and GQ Italia. New Line plans a limited theatrical release of the original before the end of the year, in time for awards season.

What the Deal Includes

Deadline described New Line as a now Paramount-owned label, and Italian film outlet Cinematografo identified the company as owned by Skydance. The label is known for horror franchises including The Conjuring and It, La Stampa USA noted.

French company Le Pacte brokered the agreement and handles international sales and French distribution, Deadline reported. Financial terms were not disclosed. No director, writer, cast, production start or release date has been announced for the remake, according to GQ Italia and the horror site After Dark Film Club.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that Le Pacte announced a separate round of international sales on Nov. 11, placing the film in markets including the United Kingdom and Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, the Baltic states, the Balkans, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India and Latin America.

The Film and Its Cast

Written by Strippoli with Salvatore De Chirico, The Spiral stars Jasmine Trinca as Anna, a mother who arrives unannounced at the home of her daughter Alice, played by Romana Maggiora Vergano, GQ Italia reported. Deadline said the family is thrown into turmoil when a mysterious woman known as the Stranger, played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, draws Trinca's character into a Faustian pact. Adriano Giannini also appears.

The film was produced by Marina Marzotto and Mattia Oddone for Rome-based Propaganda in collaboration with Rai Cinema, with Belgium's Tarantula and Italy's Dinamo Film among its co-producers, according to Deadline. It is Strippoli's fourth feature, following A Classic Horror Story (2021), Flowing (2022) and The Holy Boy (2025).

The film opened in Italian cinemas in October. Deadline put its Italian gross at around $4 million, while Cinematografo reported takings of 3,513,186 euros from 483,752 admissions. Strippoli told reporters in New York that the film had been in Italian theaters for six weeks and was still in the top ten, ANSA reported.

Festival Run and Awards

The Spiral had its world premiere in Competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Young Cinema Award for Best Italian Film and the Green Drop Award, Deadline reported. Its North American premiere came in the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness program, where it finished first runner-up for the People's Choice Midnight Madness Award.

At the Sitges festival in Spain, Trinca won Best Actress and the film received the Silver Méliès for Best Film. It has also screened at Fantastic Fest and at the Busan, Chicago and Thessaloniki international film festivals, according to Deadline.

Oscar Campaign in New York

The deal followed the start of the film's Oscar campaign in New York. La Stampa USA reported that the film was screened for press in Manhattan on Nov. 10 at an event organized by the Italy On Screen Today festival, followed on Nov. 11 by a meeting with journalists at the Consulate General of Italy, attended by Consul General Giuseppe Pastorelli.

"Our goal is to go as far as possible, hoping the film will be recognized, seen and voted for," Strippoli said, according to La Stampa USA. He said the project took five years to reach the set. ANSA reported that Italy's submission arrived on Sept. 23, the last of 148 films entered in the race.

The Academy will announce its International Feature shortlist on Dec. 15, according to La Stampa USA and ANSA. ANSA reported that Strippoli, 33, who signed with talent agency WME in October, was scheduled to travel to Los Angeles the following week and then to Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris and London. Producer Marina Marzotto told ANSA that the foreign-language Oscar "is decided in large part abroad, not only in the U.S."

Italian Films Remade in Hollywood

GQ Italia noted that the deal adds to a list of Italian films that have received American versions, including Scent of a Woman, adapted from Dino Risi's Profumo di donna; The Last Kiss, from Gabriele Muccino's L'ultimo bacio; and Everybody's Fine, from Giuseppe Tornatore's Stanno tutti bene. Luca Guadagnino's 2018 Suspiria reworked Dario Argento's 1977 horror film of the same name.