Anchor Bay will release J Blakeson’s much fancied kidnapping thriller The Disappearance Of Alice Creed starring Gemma Arterton following its world premiere in Toronto.

A Bigger Boat founder Peter Block is understood to have negotiated the deal for US rights with Cinetic and funnelled the film to Anchor Bay, with whom he has a relationship.

The film marks Block’s first acquisition since leaving his post as president of acquisitions and co-productions at Lionsgate in 2008 and setting up his new Los Angeles-based company.

Block, a widely respected genre specialist who has been a key producing executive on the hit Saw franchise, has been busy lining up his intitial slate of films at A Bigger Boat. He produced Adam Green’s ski resort thriller Frozen, which will receive its world premiere at Sundance in several weeks, and the upcoming John Carpenter horror tale The Ward starring Amber Heard.

The Disappearance Of Alice Creed centres on the botched kidnapping of a rich girl. Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston round out the cast.

Adrian Sturges produced and CinemaNX’s Steve Christian and Marc Samuelson served as executive producers and will self-distribute in the UK. WestEnd Films handles international sales.

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