Omnilab Media has teamed with Paramount Pictures for the Australian and New Zealand distribution of The Bank Job, which will be in cinemas from July 31.

The thriller opened at the top of the UK charts after it was released there on February 28 and has since taken more than $7m across 350 screens. A week later it debuted in third position in North America, where it has grossed more than $20m from 1,600 screens.

Based on an unsolved 1971 robbery in London that involved the Royal Family, The Bank Job is directed by Roger Donaldson and stars Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows.

Omnilab, a privately-owned Australian company with extensive interests in post-production, announced a year ago that it would co-finance The Bank Job alongside Relativity Media. As part of the deal, it co-distributed the film in the UK alongside Lionsgate, and substantially funded the print and advertising costs in North America, where Lionsgate was the sole distributor.

Omnilab is becoming increasingly visible in the feature film arena. It is nearing completion on its first film, Dying Breed, produced by Ambience Entertainment, one of 14 companies in the Omnilab group. The horror film with a cannibal theme will have its world premiere in a midnight slot at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Dying Breed , directed by Jody Dwyer, stars Leigh Whannell (Saw) and Nathan Phillips (Snakes on a Plane, Wolf Creek). In Australia it will be distributed in association with Hoyts and, like The Bank Job, it is being sold internationally by Arclight.

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