Entertainment One has pacted with DreamWorks Studios in a four-year output agreement to distribute the company’s films across the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, covering all media rights, the latest move in eOne’s multi-territory strategy.
“It’s a momentous opportunity to be alongside such esteemed partners and broaden our international slate with top-quality commercial films for years to come. This significant deal aligns so very well with eOne’s distribution infrastructure around the globe,” said eOne’s President, Filmed Entertainment Patrice Theroux , in a statement.
“They [eOne] are an industry leader in the U.K. and Benelux and we know our films will be handled with the utmost skill and creativity by the eOne marketing and distribution teams,” said Jeff Small, DreamWorks’ President and COO, in his own statement.
The first film under the multi-year agreement with the Hollywood studio headed up by Stephen Spielberg, Stacey Snider and Small will be the remake of Starbuck, starring Vince Vaughn.
DreamWorks tapped Ken Scott, who directed and co-wrote (with Martin Petit) the original Quebec film, to write and direct the Hollywood adaptation, slated to begin production in October for release in 2013.
DreamWork’s Small and eOne’s Theroux brokered the deal via David Garrett’s international licensing and distribution company Mister Smith Entertainment, which handles DreamWorks’ films in Europe, Africa and The Middle East.
eOne earlier this month announced that it will acquire Canadian indie distributor Alliance Films for approximately $225 million, in a move to expand its global film distribution business and grow its other divisions.
The deal also follows Lionsgate last week pacting with Roadshow Films in Australia and Alliance Films in Spain, and this week expanding its output deal with Europe’s StudioCanal, as the Canadian mini-studios continue to expand their global distribution networks.