Arrow snaps up titles to boost UK theatrical presence

Arrow, the UK multi-platform distributor, has been on an acquisition spree as it looks to boost its presence in the British theatrical market.

Among its headline acquisitions at the American Film Market (AFM) last week are Battle Royale 3D, the much-hyped stereoscopic 3D version of the 2000 horror classic directed by the late Kinji Fukasaku. The film was acquired from Toei. It is being released on 300 prints in Japan later this month. Arrow, which has taken all rights, aims to give the film a small theatrical release. The new version contains additional scenes and new music that did not feature in the 2D original.

Arrow, which specialises in foreign language, cult, horror and arthouse fare, has also bought what is reputed to be Russia’s most expensive ever film, Nikita Mikhalkov’s The Exodus: Burnt By The Sun 2 and its sequel The Citadel: Burnt By The Sun 3. Wild Bunch handled international sales on the two films, which are believed to have had a combined budget of $55 million.

“They are on a scale that we don’t see very often outside a major studio,” commented Tom Stewart, head of acquisitions at Arrow Films. Arrow, which has taken all rights, is yet to decide whether the films will be released separately or together.

Meanwhile, in a deal negotiated with the producers, Arrow has bought Volker Schlörndorff’s “Director’s Cut” of his Palme D’Or and Oscar-winning The Tin Drum (1979). This is the version of the film (including 22 minutes of unseen footage) that premiered in Cannes this year. Arrow is planning a limited theatrical theatrical release in April or May next year.

Arrow has also snapped up cult Asian film Vampire Warriors aka New Age Vampire Warriors from Kevin Williams Associates. The film, which will have a theatrical release in China later this year, stars Wah Yuen, Chrissie Chau and Luxia Jiang. It’s billed as a “romantic love story of young vampires.”

Another new Arrow pick-up is Olivier Abbou’s horror film Territories from the producer of The Horde. The film, sold by SND at the American Film Market, is available in English and French language version. Again, Arrow is plotting “some form of theatrical.”

Showing its appetite for upscale literary fare, Arrow has now snapped up $20 million And Quiet Flows The Don, which legendary Russian director Sergei Bondarchuk was working on before his death in 1994. The film, which is adapted from Mikhail Sholokov’s novel, was not completed and lay in a vault for many years. It was finally “rescued” and finished in 2006. Arrow is planning a straight to DVD release.

From Uwe Boll, Arrow has pre-bought In The Name Of The King 2. The film, which stars action icon Dolph Lundgren, starts shooting in December. Fox has taken US rights.

The company has also snapped up a new documentary, The Wereth Eleven, which tells the story of a group of black American GIs during the Battle of The Bulge who were butchered and killed in one of the least understood war crimes of the Second World War. Passion River was handled sales. The feature doc is in post production.

Another new Arrow film is Mikael Salomon’s $7 million sci-fi drama The Lost Future starring Sean Bean and Corey Sevier.