'The Favourite,' Starring Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, to Open New York Film Festival

Fox Searchlight will release the costume drama in November.


Yorgos Lanthimos’ costume drama The Favourite will raise the curtain as the opening night film at the 56th New York Film Festival on Sept. 28, it was announced Monday by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.


The new film from the director of The Lobster (which played the 2015 edition of the festival) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer is set in 18th century England and stars Rachel Weisz as Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, and Emma Stone as her servant, Abigail Hill, as they vie for the attentions of Olivia Colman’s Queen Anne at the height of the War of Spanish Succession.


"The Favourite is a lot of things at once, each of them perfectly meshed: a historical epic; a visual feast; a wild, wild ride; a formidable display of the art of acting from Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Olivia Colman, abetted by a brilliant cast; a tour de force from Yorgos Lanthimos. And … it’s a blast.


We’re very excited to have it as our opening night film," New York Film Festival director and selection committee chair Kent Jones said in announcing the film, which will have its New York premiere when it screens at Alice Tully Hall.


Added Lanthimos: "It’s a great privilege to be showing The Favourite for the opening night of the New York Film Festival, which is a very special place for the film. I had a wonderful experience screening The Lobster at this distinct festival, and I’m looking forward to sharing The Favourite with audiences in New York. I was envisioning this film for many years and eventually had a lot of fun making it."


NYFF is set to run through Oct. 14. Fox Searchlight will release The Favourite theatrically on Nov. 23.