Revolver sets new company opening weekend record with Shank

UK distributor Revolver Entertainment has seen record company success at the box office for the first production from its Gunslinger production arm. This weekend, action thriller Shank gave Revolver its most successful opening weekend ever in the UK, taking $417,736 (£278,904) across 86 screens – a per-screen average of $4,857 (£3,243).

Shank was the top film at about a quarter of its total sites.

Former music video director Mo Ali helmed the project, which was produced by Nick Taussig. Paul Van Carter wrote the script about gangs in a near-future London.

Gunslinger is already developing a sequel to Shank with the same creative team.

The film was driven by market demands, Revolver notes – using the company’s distribution expertise (on past similar projects like Kidulthood) during the making of the film, plus using innovative marketing strategies and a youth-friendly website. For example, urban musician Ashley ‘Bashy’ Thomas who stars in the film, also created a music video for “When The Sky Falls.” That title track from the film garnered more than 375,000 views on YouTube.

“Mo, Paul and Nick have managed to deliver exactly what this audience was asking for,” said Revolver CEO Justin Marciano. “We’ve built up an extraordinary relationship with young audiences over the last few years, and all that we have gained in experience has paid off this weekend.”