Peace Arch puts five in theaters

Peace Arch Entertainment and First Look Studios have signed a deal that will see the Toronto outfit distribute five movies in theaters across Canada and another 27 to broadcasters. The agreement revealed on Thursday follows an output deal signed earlier this year between PAE and the L.A. studio, and covers titles seen recently on the festival circuit and on DVD in the U.S.

Two titles seen at this year’s Sundance festival are among the five set for Canuck theaters — the drama An American Crime, with Catherine Keener in the true story of a teen’s abduction in the 1960s; and the comedy Smiley Face, starring Anna Faris (Scary Movie) and John Krasinski (The Office). Smiley Face had a limited release last month in the U.S. and is due on DVD there in January.

The others set for theaters are the horror remake Day of the Dead, due in the U.S. in February, the family story Finding Rin Tin Tin and the comedy The Amateurs, about a small town that comes together to make an adult film, which gets a limited release in the U.S. on Friday.

Peace Arch will also distribute all five on DVD, VOD and TV.

The deal covers another 27 titles, which PAE will release to TV. They include the 2005 action Animal, starring Ving Rhames; the ghost story Half Light with Demi Moore, and the 2006 comedy Relative Strangers with Danny DeVito.

Berry Meyerowitz, president of Peace Arch’s home-video division, said in a statement the films will ‘resonate with a sizable audience in the Canadian market.’