Lionsgate is closing multiple international deals with Amazon for the Jennifer Lopez–Armie Hammer comedy “Shotgun Wedding.”
The project stars Lopez as Darcy and Hammer as Tom, a couple who gathers their families together for a destination wedding. Things start to go south, however, after the two get cold feet. But that’s not the worst thing about the wedding from hell — the ceremony goes completely off the rails when the entire party is taken hostage.
“Shotgun Wedding,” which has not yet been filmed, was unveiled in October for presales by Lionsgate at last month’s online American Film Market. Jason Moore will direct from a screenplay by Mark Hammer and Liz Meriwether. The film will be produced by Mandeville’s Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman, who previously teamed with Lionsgate on the sleeper hit “Wonder.”
The Amazon transactions include international deals with traditional theatrical distributors such as Leonine in Germany and Nordisk in Scandinavia as well as striking a multi-territory deal with Amazon for English-speaking and European territories as well as Latin America. Lionsgate will continue to fully control U.S. rights on the film.
“Lionsgate and our filmmaking partners have collaboratively preserved the invaluable opportunity that a communal theatrical experience offers while availing the collective partners to maximize the full value of the marketplace,” a Lionsgate spokesman said.
Lionsgate made a similar move in August when it sold domestic rights to Sarah Paulson’s thriller “Run” to Hulu, making the thriller the latest in a long line of titles to ditch its planned theatrical release amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It also decided in August to bypass theaters with a premium video-on-demand release for Janelle Monae’s “Antebellum.”
The news about “Shotgun Wedding” was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.