Cole Sprouse Faces the Yakuza Over Rare Denim: 'Vintage Violence' Lands Toronto Midnight Madness Slot

Best Friend Forever has taken on international sales for Eugene Kotlyarenko's eighth feature film, Vintage Violence, which is set for its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival. The sales pick-up, along with the film's programming slot, was confirmed on 24 August 2026. WME is handling domestic rights — that is, distribution for the United States and Canada. (Variety)

The film stars Cole Sprouse and Kiko Mizuhara, with supporting roles from Nijiro Murakami, Pierre Taki, and Hio Miyazawa. Its plot follows a livestreamer who discovers a hidden cache of rare vintage denim in Colorado and is lured to Japan, where he becomes embroiled in a turf war with the Yakuza. The 105-minute feature is a United States–Japan co-production, made in English and Japanese. (TIFF)

Sean Price Williams serves as cinematographer. Spacemaker Productions' Alex Hughes and Riccardo Maddalosso produce, with Japan's Barravento and Mam Film co-producing. (Variety)

For Kotlyarenko, the Midnight Madness berth follows a proven path. His previous feature, Spree, premiered at Sundance in 2020 and later reached Netflix's Top 10 — a streaming-chart placement that measures viewing volume on the platform. Vintage Violence is his eighth film as director. (Variety)

Best Friend Forever, co-founded by Martin Gondre and Charles Bin, has built a fall 2026 sales slate that pairs Vintage Violence with two other Toronto titles: Half and Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner Elephants in the Fog. For international buyers at the festival, the company is effectively using Toronto as a launchpad — Midnight Madness selections, known for their genre bent and raucous midnight screenings, tend to draw distributor attention precisely because they arrive with an audience-tested buzz. (Variety)

Mizuhara, whose profile continues to rise across international productions, will also appear in Takashi Miike's untitled Kyoto film. The Vintage Violence cast threads together American and Japanese talent across a story that moves from Colorado to Japan — a cross-cultural setup reflected in the production structure itself. (Variety)

Toronto's Midnight Madness section, which programmes genre films — horror, thriller, action, and the harder-to-classify — has historically been a strong sales environment for midnight fare. The festival runs each September in Toronto.