Independent Film Company buys Nicolas Cage thriller Best Pancakes In The County

Independent Film Company has bought the US rights to Best Pancakes In The County, the action-thriller starring Nicolas Cage, Justin Long and Shelley Hennig. The deal covers release in the United States, in cinemas and on digital platforms to rent or buy. The film is set for 20 November 2026. Deadline first reported the acquisition on 1 October 2026.

The film is built around a deadly standoff at a small-town diner, as previously reported by Deadline. Cage plays The S.O.B., an eccentric and cunning criminal caught in the confrontation. Long plays Cookie. Hennig plays Dolly, completing the central trio at the centre of the diner encounter.

The film was written and directed by Ken Sanzel. The project reunites Sanzel with Cage after Kill Chain, the thriller they made together in 2019. Production took place in Arkansas. Having the same person write and direct means one creative lead shapes both the script and the staging.

Beyond the three leads, the ensemble includes Lauren German, Ravi Patel and Brandon Mychal Smith. Kelly Greyson, Jaylen Moore and Michael Sirow also appear. In total, nine principal performers have been announced for the diner story.

The US deal was negotiated by Mark Ward for Independent Film Company and Eduard Osipov at Beno Films on behalf of the film-makers. Beno Films produced the picture, with backing from CaliWood Pictures. The producers are Osipov, Raja Collins, Eric Brenner, Niko Fomenko, Gary Preisler and R. Wesley Sierk III. That team carried the production from the Arkansas shoot to the finished film now dated for release.

Fortitude International is handling international sales. In practice, that means offering licences territory by territory to distributors outside the United States. The US agreement and the international effort sit side by side, a common split for independent films without one worldwide distributor.

The release plan puts cinemas and digital together on the same day. Audiences can choose the big screen or watching at home. That dual path is now routine for independent titles looking to reach viewers quickly.

For viewers, this means the wait is short. A deal closed in early October leads to a release in late November. The diner doors open in seven weeks.