The Weinstein Company paid $4 million for the worldwide distribution rights to "Grace is Gone," the biggest sale of this year's Sundance Film Festival so far. It played on Saturday night and was purchased in the wee hours of Sunday morning. The Weinsteins beat out Fox Searchlight and Sony Pictures Classics for the first purchase of a non-documentary film at Sundance.

"Grace" stars John Cusack as a widowed father who must break the news to his two daughters of his wife's death while she was serving in the armed forces in Iraq. The film attracted buyers' interest for Cusack's outstanding performance and the film's emotional impact. The Weinsteins plan to release it next winter as an Oscar contender.