Exclusive: ‘The Surgeon’ and ‘Everybody Wants to F*ck Me’ Spark TIFF Bidding Wars

We’ve got another one for you.

Dread Central is hearing exclusively that multiple offers are on the table for both The Surgeon and Everybody Wants to F*ck Me, two very different crowd-pleasers attracting buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival.

We’re told the bidding on The Surgeon, starring Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), has moved into the millions. Meanwhile, Everybody Wants to F*ck Me is drawing competing offers of its own, with a premise that should immediately get horror fans’ attention.

Before we get into those, a quick reminder: earlier this week, we broke the news that Universal Pictures and Blumhouse were closing in on River, the vicious TIFF slasher originally backed by Independent Film Company and Shudder. IndieWire subsequently confirmed and reported that the companies were closing a deal north of $10 million.

I’ve been doing this for 25 years. Breaking horror stories is my specialty, and we’ve been busy over here. If you’re not following Dread Central on TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram, get on it.

Now, back to Toronto.

For anyone wondering why these festival deals become such a feeding frenzy, distributors need movies to fill their release calendars. When they haven’t produced enough themselves, acquisitions can help fill those gaps. Toronto gives buyers a concentrated look at finished films, often with a live audience demonstrating exactly how well they play.

It isn’t the last opportunity to buy a movie before Sundance, but for companies building out their 2027 slates, it’s a big one. With Fantastic Fest coming right behind it, there’s plenty for genre fans to keep an eye on.

And these are two titles worth watching.