Dogwoof is walking into MIPCOM Cannes with a clear pitch: festival credibility plus a home-market box office proof point.
Two docs, two risk profiles
The London-based distributor has acquired international rights to Rapinoe, excluding North America, after the film opened TIFF Docs last month. Directed by Rebeca Huntt, it tracks Megan Rapinoe from working-class Redding, California, to two Women’s World Cup titles and the equal-pay fight. Story Syndicate and Noah Media Group produce, with Impact Partners presenting.
Dogwoof also took international sales on Hanging By a Wire after handling its UK theatrical release. The Sundance 2026 documentary, directed by Mohammed Ali Naqvi, has been selected as Pakistan’s official entry for the 2027 Oscars International Feature category. It reconstructs the rescue of six schoolboys and two adults from a cable car 900 feet above a Himalayan ravine. Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse Productions, EverWonder Studio, Universal Pictures Content Group and 64th Street Media are among the producing partners.
Why the market is listening
Buyers see fewer unknowns. Rapinoe arrives with a festival slot and an athlete story that travels; Hanging By a Wire arrives with an Oscar selection and a streaming head start. Paramount+ already holds rights in a number of territories, Dogwoof represents the rest, and Abramorama has U.S. sales rights.
Dogwoof is also walking in with closed sales, not just titles:
- Lomu: ITV in the UK, Canal+ in France, Madman in Australia and New Zealand, Movistar in Spain, and RTÉ in Ireland.
- Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie: ZDF/Arte in Germany and France, HBO Max in Central and Eastern Europe, plus buyers in Spain, the Nordics, the Netherlands, Belgium and MENA.
A small gross, a large signal
In New Zealand, Lomu has grossed $440,545 from 28,695 admissions. That number is not a global breakout; it is a demand signal. It shows audiences turned out on the subject’s home turf, which gives broadcast and streaming buyers cover when committing to a territory.
For documentary sellers, this is the model: a festival launch creates noise, an Oscar pick adds urgency, and a local box office print adds proof. The task at MIPCOM is then territory-by-territory execution—mapping which streamer, broadcaster or hybrid window takes each slice.
The stakes are tangible. With Paramount+ and HBO Max already picking up selected rights, the remaining territories for Rapinoe and Hanging By a Wire will show whether this festival-to-licence pipeline converts globally.
Source: Deadline
