Craig Lahiff’s thriller Swerve will debut in the US on December 6 at five cinemas, screening at prime locations in New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, Atlanta and Houston.
Expansion to other cities is contingent on the initial B.O. results, according to the producer, Duoart Productions’ Helen Leake. Video-On-Demand release will follow shortly afterwards.
The US distributor, Cohen Media Group, bought the film at the Berlin Film Festival in early 2012 but postponed the release in hopes of capitalising on the rising profiles of Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby, White House Down) and David Lyons (Safe Haven, TV’s Revolution).
In Swerve, Lyons’ character is a drifter who turns up at the scene of a road accident in the desert where he finds a dead man, a beautiful woman and a suitcase full of money. After trying to do the right thing he finds himself caught up in a dangerous web involving a crooked cop (Clarke) and his mysterious wife (Emma Booth).
The film was released on 16 city screens and in regional areas in Australia by Jump Street Films and Duoart. Leake said the takings were enough to enable them to recoup their P&A costs and the title did well for Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The Seven Network bought the free-to-air rights.
Leake produced with director Greg Mclean Wolf Creek 2, which Image Entertainment will release in the US.