HBO Max Snags Rights to Horror Hit ‘1978’ as Black Mandala Closes Multiple Territory Deals (EXCLUSIVE)

New Zealand-based sales outfit Black Mandala has secured a slate of international distribution deals for “1978,” the acclaimed supernatural horror film from the Onetti Brothers that has been making waves across the festival circuit since 2024.

The deals, closed at the Cannes Film Market by Black Mandala’s Co-CEOs Nicolás Onetti and Michael Kraetzer, along with head of sales Catherine Quantschnigg, include HBO Max for Latin America, 9th Plan for Poland, Best Digital for Taiwan, Wild Duck for Spain, and Take1 for both Scandinavia and Benelux, as well as Busch Media for Germany.

The film, directed by Luciano and Nicolás Onetti, blends historical trauma with supernatural horror, setting its narrative during Argentina’s military dictatorship and the 1978 World Cup soccer final between Argentina and Holland.

The film bowed at the Cannes Film Market during the Blood Window Showcase in 2024. “1978” has been a breakout genre hit, screening at more than 30 international festivals including the Sitges Film Festival, Screamfest L, and Santiago Horror Film Festival. The film has accumulated several awards across multiple festivals. Following its festival run, “1978” enjoyed a successful theatrical release in Argentina.

The production features an ensemble of notable Argentine talent including Agustín Pardella (“Society of the Snow”), Mario Alarcón (“The Secret in Their Eyes”), and Carlos Portaluppi (“Argentina 1985”).

The film’s synopsis describes a harrowing premise: During the 1978 World Cup soccer final, amid Argentina’s military dictatorship, a group of torturers violently breaks into a home and kidnaps young people to take them to a clandestine detention center. What begins as an inhumane interrogation takes a supernatural turn when it’s revealed the wrong people have been kidnapped – they are part of a macabre cult guided by an unknown supernatural force.