Focus Features has acquired international rights to Stages, the directorial debut of Sonoya Mizuno, with A24 handling domestic distribution — domestic meaning the United States and Canada. Universal Pictures International will distribute the film overseas. Deadline broke the news on 30 July 2026.

The film follows a young dancer at an elite ballet school who earns the lead in a prestigious recital, only to have her focus shattered by a family tragedy. It is a world Mizuno knows from the inside: she trained at the Royal Ballet School in London and performed with the English National Ballet, Dresden Semper Oper Ballet and Scottish Ballet before moving into acting, where her screen credits include Alex Garland's Annihilation and Civil War as well as House of the Dragon opposite Emma D'Arcy.

The ensemble cast now assembled for Stages brings together Julie Delpy, Emma D'Arcy, Takehiro Hira, Kathryn Hunter and Kate Dickie. Behind the camera, Mizuno has drawn a crew with deep independent-film pedigrees: Wyatt Garfield on cinematography, Neesha Tulsi Champaneria designing costumes, Anna Rhodes as production designer, Shahnaz Dulaimy editing, Natasha Lawes on hair and make-up, and Lucy Pardee casting. The choreographer is Hofesh Shechter.

Producing are Peter Rice, Agile Films' Myles Payne and Sam Ritzenberg, and Alex Garland. Film4, the British film-financing arm of Channel 4, is partnering with A24 on the project — a relationship first reported by Variety in December 2025.

What makes the deal notable is the split structure itself. A24 taking domestic while Focus handles international is a configuration that gives the film two specialist distributors, each with a strong track record in their respective territories, rather than a single studio committing to a worldwide release. For audiences, that means the film is likely to reach screens through the arthouse and specialty channels where dance-driven dramas tend to find their audience.

No release date has been announced. Production details beyond the cast and crew named here have not been disclosed.