Shout! Studios has taken North American rights to the action thriller “Fire,” and Russian production and distribution powerhouse Central Partnership has closed a host of other territories, the company announced during the Sundance Film Festival.
Directed by Alexey Nuzhniy, “Fire” is a splashy, big-budget actioner about heroic smokejumpers racing against disaster. Since its Christmas Eve release, the film has grossed more than $10 million at the Russian box office. Pic is produced by Nikita Mikhalkov’s Studio TriTe, pubcaster Russia-1 and Central Partnership, with the support of the Fond Kino cinema fund.
Central Partnership, which is handling international sales, has also closed distribution deals for Australia and New Zealand (Umbrella Entertainment), Germany and German-speaking Europe (Capelight Pictures), Spain (Mediaset), Latin America (BF Distribution), Japan (Culture Entertainment), South Korea (BoXoo Entertainment) and Taiwan (MovieCloud). The film will be released in North America in the summer.
“‘Fire’ is a high-octane action thriller with stunning production value and heroic characters,” said Shout! Studios’ VP of acquisitions, Jordan Fields. “Emotional and visual, this is man vs. nature writ large.”
“We are delighted at buyers’ interest in the film, belief in its potential, and appreciation of its scale and quality,” said Central Partnership CEO Vadim Vereshchagin. “This is particularly important for us as distributors now, during the pandemic and the ongoing crisis in the cinema business. Today as ever, our focus is on strengthening the position of Russian film on the international stage.”
He added: “Viewers across the world will recognize ‘Fire’s’ characters, because there are people like them everywhere. They’re not Marvel superheroes: they’re the guy next door.”