Sony Scoops Up TIFF Michelle Yeoh Thunder Road Action Thriller ‘The Surgeon’

In another sign of life for films looking for acquisitions out of film festivals, the Thunder Road and Tango thriller The Surgeon starring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh is seeing its North American and some foreign rights won by Sony Pictures after multiple bids. Sony also took rights in Latin America, Italy, China, and Hong Kong. After IFC decided to unload its buzzy River out of TIFF Midnight Madness, which Sony was outbid on by Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, the other buzzy title at the Great White North festival was The Surgeon. In the fast-paced, pulse pounding, Thin Lizzy infused soundtrack action pic, Yeoh plays an expert surgeon who is abducted and forced to operate on a mysterious patient, only to turn 35 years of surgical expertise against her captors and outwit them in a fight for survival. The pic was directed by Roshan Sethi, M.D. and also stars Martin Freeman, Laurie Davidson, Yuri Kolokolnikov, and Joseph Mydell. In addition to directing such movies as the 2025 romantic comedy A Nice Indian Boy and being the co-creator of Fox medical series The Resident), Sethi is a practicing radiation oncologist at a Boston hospital. Watch on Deadline Following A Nice Indian Boy, Sethi drew from his background as a physician to deliver a pulse-pounding ride that pays homage to genre films, from kidnapping thriller to surgical drama to home invasion in The Surgeon. Eleven reviews out of TIFF have The Surgeon at 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Pic is produced by John Wick franchise producers Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and Diarmaid McGrath of Thunder Road, Tango’s Tim Headington, Lia Buman, Tango’s Neil Shah, Steve Klinsky, Adam Kolbrenner of Lit Entertainment Group, John Schoenfelder, and Russell Ackerman. Theresa Page, Kim Szarzynski, Yeoh, 193’s Patrick Wachsberger and Ashley Stern, Mahal Sourgose, Eric Harbert, Jay Schuminsky, Patrick White, David Martin, Macdara Kelleher, Eoin Egan, Cáit Collins, and Andrew Schwartzberg serve as executive producers.Yeoh also appeared in other official selection at this year’s TIFF, Bai Xue’s It’s My Time. Yeoh won Best Actress at the 2023 Oscars for Everything Everywhere All at Once.The deal was negotiated by WME on behalf of the filmmakers. 193, a Legendary company, handled international sales rights. The deal was negotiated on behalf of the studio by Joe Matukewicz, President, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions; Virginia Longmuir, EVP Business Affairs, and Elan Kovo, VP Business Development & FP&A. Sethi is represented by CAA and Lit Entertainment Group.