Kriv Stenders’ comedy thriller Kill Me Three Times will be released in the US by Magnolia Pictures, a distributor of niche films including A Long Way Down, Frank, Blackfish and Nymphomaniac.
Brokered by WME, the deal is estimated to be worth low seven-figures, according to Deadline.com which broke the story.
There is no word on the launch date but Deadline said Magnolia plans a “big theatrical push for a pic that’s a raucous and violent ride in the spirit of films like Seven Psychopaths.”
Magnolia typically distributes films in a limited number of cinemas day-and-date with VOD, as was the case with A Long Way Down, which stars Pierce Brosnan, Toni Colette, Imogen Poots, Aaron Paul and Sam Neill.
The firm owned by billionaires Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban released Happy Christmas, writer-director Joe Swanberg’s drama starring Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber and Lena Dunham, on VOD one month before the theatrical debut, known as the ultra-VOD window.
EOne will open Kill Me Three Times, which premiered at Toronto in the Contemporary World Cinema section, in Australia next year. Scripted by James McFarland, the film stars Simon Pegg as an assassin who encounters a group of increasingly violent locals, alongside Alice Braga, Luke Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer and Sullivan Stapleton.
Stenders told IF, “It's an incredibly thrilling and immensely satisfying result for us, since Magnolia Pictures is a brand that I've long admired and respected. As the rousing audience screenings in Toronto attest, Kill Me Three Times is a wild, crowd pleasing ride and we are so excited that Magnolia recognise this and are giving us the opportunity for our movie to be showcased in the North American theatrical arena."
Producers Laurence Malkin, Share Stallings and Tania Chambers said, "We're thrilled to be in business with Magnolia, who showed great passion for the film and have made an incredible commitment to its release. It's a tribute to Kriv, James, the actors and everyone who worked so hard on the film."