"Grace of Monaco" is set to premiere on Lifetime after a series of delays and disputes over the final cut of the film.

The news comes a huge surprise as the movie was originally set for a theatrical release by the Weinstein Company. However, the company sold the film's right to Lifetime after director Oliver Dahan and Harvey Weinstein could not come to an agreement on which cut would be released. With the upcoming premiere, it is still unknown which cut will be shown on Lifetime.

"Grace of Monaco" was acquired in 2013 at the Berlin Film Festival for a hefty $5 million and was originally scheduled for November of that year. It was speculated to be an awards contender, but suddenly the Weinstein Company removed it from it slate and scheduled for March of 2014. However, the film was suddenly pushed back.

According to Oliver Dahan, the version that Harvey Weinstein intended to release was "a commercial film smelling of daisies, taking out anything that exceeds that which is too abrupt, anything that makes it cinematic and breathe with life."

After so many disputes, the movie went on to open at the Cannes Film Festival, where Weinstein did not attend due to other commitments and where the film was critically panned and called the worst opening in the history of Cannes.

There was also speculation as to whether or not Weinstein would still release the film. After a number of discussions, the company decided to strike a new deal for the film at Cannes, agreeing to show Dahan's cut in the U.S., but acquiring rights for just $3 million instead of the original $5 million.

Things continued to go awry when the drama was not slated for release in 2014. Weinstein later addressed the conflict at Sundance where he defended a cut that was supervised by the writer Arash Amel, which he said was much better if not groundbreaking.

The question most will ask is why the Weinstein Company did not dump the movie on VOD/DVD or why it wasn't sent off to Radius TWC, the way "Snowpiercer" was. After all, that film had its share of behind-the-scenes drama over cuts. When "Snowpiercer" was eventually released on Radius TWC, the director's cut was shown. More interesting was why the company release didn't do a very under-the-radar theatrical release.

The Weinstein Company has been known for doing that and most recently did it with "The Immigrant," "Eva," "The Players" and "On the Other side of the Tracks."

The company could've also done a similar strategy like it did for "One Chance." The movie, which was long delayed, was released first on Yahoo movies for free and then brought to limited theatrical release with very little and Press and Advertisement.

It isn't the first time a drama with little commercial potential is released theatrically. In 2013, Oliver Hirschbiegel's "Diana" was released theatrically and obtained terrible reviews. The film, which starred Naomi Watts, eventually flopped. In 2007, Steven Zaillian's "All the King's Men" was also a critically flop and ended up leaving theaters quickly. Both these dramas had the same type of formulas as "Grace of Monaco." They had awards pedigree and star-studded casts as well as interesting stories. However, they were all critical failures.

It is unknown why Weinstein made the decision but the new release will mark the second time for a Nicole Kidman film that premieres at Cannes goes straight to TV. The first was "Hemingway & Gellhorn." However, that movie was met with mixed reviews and was also acquired by HBO, a network known for prestigious content.

Lifetime, on the other hand, is known for melodrama and films that highly derided like "Liz & Dick." "Grace of Monaco" seems to fit the bill as it currently has a nine percent aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes and has been ridiculed by many.

"Grace of Monaco," which carries a hefty $35 million budget will likely obtain a high viewership especially after the behind the scenes drama. The film stars Kidman, Tim Roth, Frank Langella and Paz Vega.

Lifetime will premiere the movie on May 25, the day after the 2015 Cannes Film Festival closes.

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