The financial crisis drama has already grossed $7.3m outside North America and a number of key upcoming territories received a fillip this week when writer-director JC Chandor earned a best original screenplay Academy Award nomination.
The film, sold internationally by Santa Monica-based Myriad Pictures, has grossed more than $7m internationally so far and is set to open this spring in Australia through Becker, France through ARP, Italy through RAI Cinema, Scandinavia through Svensk and Mexico through Gussi.
It is still in early release in the UK through Stealth and continues to play in Brazil through Paris Filmes and Canada through Alliance, among others.
“I could not be more pleased for JC, or think of a more deserving individual or film,” said Kirk D’Amico, the Myriad Pictures CEO who handled international sales and served as executive producer on the film.
“We are thrilled for all our distributors around the world who acquired the film and have already enjoyed its success, and for those with – hopefully – successful releases to come. We anticipate that the film will perform at a level that will more than double its US performance.”
Myriad acquired international rights at script stage before Cannes 2010. The film shot that summer and D’Amico showed footage in Toronto and went on to close a slew of sales at AFM. Margin Call premiered at Sundance 2011.
Germany’s Koch and Russia’s CDLand released it in September 2011, one month before the US release through Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate. “They needed to take advantage of scheduling around competitive product and the availability of the actors and JC to do publicity,” D’Amico said. “We coordinated closely with Roadside to make it work. The world is so interconnected now; you have to work as partners with distributors who want to maximise success for everyone.”
“What is really interesting to see is how the new releasing models are evolving from an international perspective,” he added. “The earlier release of Margin Call in Germany and Russia had no negative impact on the US performance. Likewise, the day-and-date VoD and theatrical release in the US had no negative impact on international theatrical releases. The VoD date in the US was not a deterrent to those territories that chose to wait out the Academy-heavy holiday season and go theatrical in the new year. Margin Call has really been a breakthrough distribution example all over the world.”
Margin Call opened day-and-date in theatrical and on VoD in the US last October, grossing $5.3m in theatres and about the same amount on VoD.
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