With STX now focusing on production only, what happens to films from directors such as Guy Ritchie and Michael Mann?
Back in July, STX announced that it would be shuttering its UK film distribution – but it seems that was only the first step. A few days ago, the company announced that henceforth, it will no longer seek to distribute films in any capacity, operating instead purely as a production company.
That leaves several high-profile films in the balance, waiting to get picked up for distribution by other companies. Guy Ritchie’s completed Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Michael Mann’s Ferrari biopic which just wrapped production and Neil Burger’s The Marsh King’s Daughter are the big three that as yet, don’t have distributors.
In the US at least, that means that Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre will probably get picked up by a streaming platform and that could extend to the UK as well because as it stands, no new distributor to replace STX has yet been announced. Lots of other European distributors have picked the film up however, so it will definitely get a theatrical release on much of the continent.
STX has reportedly started negotiating with Lionsgate to pick up distribution for other projects so there’s a chance that we may yet see Ritchie’s action espionage flick on cinema screens here. We’re certainly of the view that any movie featuring Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza going head to head will need the biggest screen imaginable.
Lionsgate is also the likely home for Michael Mann’s Ferrari, the Adam Driver-led biopic of the celebrated Italian car manufacturer. According to Deadline though, should a deal with Lionsgate not be struck, Mann has the right to seek a theatrical distribution partner elsewhere, meaning Ferrari likely won’t be making its debut on the small screen.
Neil Burger’s The Marsh King’s Daughter is the film that faces the least certain fate, with little known about where the Daisy Ridley-led project will end up, as ‘several alternatives’ are reportedly being considered. There’s also the matter of which company might pick up the sequel to Greenland too, the Gerard Butler-starring apocalypse film that made waves back in 2020. That project is currently in pre-production.
We’ll bring you more on the status of these projects as we hear further updates.
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