2023 film by Roman Polanski
The Palace is a 2023 black comedy film directed by Roman Polanski, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jerzy Skolimowski and Ewa Piaskowska. The film stars Oliver Masucci, Fanny Ardant, John Cleese, Bronwyn James, Joaquim de Almeida, Luca Barbareschi, Milan Peschel, Fortunato Cerlino, and Mickey Rourke. It chronicles the mishaps of a 1999 New Year's Eve dinner party in the Gstaad Palace, from a penguin going loose in the hotel to the exploitation of the millennium bug for a guest's financial gain.
The film had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2023, before it was released theatrically in Italy on 28 September 2023 by 01 Distribution. The film's release and promotion were impacted by the sexual abuse controversies surrounding Polanski. It received negative reviews from critics and became a box-office bomb, grossing $972,161 worldwide against a production budget of €17 million.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.