‘Grace of Monaco’ skipping U.S. theaters, headed to Lifetime

“Grace of Monaco,” the 2014 Cannes Film Festival opener and one-time Oscar hopeful starring Nicole Kidman, is now a Lifetime movie.

Originally intended for theatrical release, the film is set to make its U.S. premiere on the cable network May 25, Lifetime announced Tuesday.

The news comes as the latest twist for “Grace,” which has been beset by off-screen drama and sparked a transatlantic fight between erstwhile U.S. distributor Harvey Weinstein and French filmmakers Olivier Dahan and Pierre-Ange Le Pogam over the tone of the film.

Starring Kidman as actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly and Tim Roth as Prince Rainier, “Grace of Monaco” was originally slated to open in the U.S. in November 2013, positioning it as an awards-season contender, but it was pushed back to spring 2014 and later pulled from the calendar altogether.

Director Dahan’s cut of “Grace” nonetheless opened Cannes last May, blindsiding Weinstein, but it received a muted response and dreadful reviews amid the festival’s glitz and glamour.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Dalton called it “relentlessly middlebrow mush,” and Variety’s Scott Foundas declared it “handsomely produced but as dramatically inert as star Nicole Kidman’s frigid cheek muscles.”

Just days before the fest, Monaco’s royal family had also condemned the movie, issuing a statement that said, “The trailer appears to be a farce and confirms the totally fictional nature of this film.”

“Grace of Monaco” opened overseas last summer and grossed an underwhelming $26.6 million.

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