Universal Pictures will dissolve its distribution venture UIP Japan and will launch a partnership with Toho-Towa this summer.

The first films to open through the new partnership will bePaul Greengrass' The Bourne Ultimatum starring Matt Damon.

'We are extremely pleased to be in business with Toho-Towa, who will be invested in the success of our slate of films in Japan,' Universal Pictures International president David Kosse said.

'We look forward to building our successful presence in this key strategic market through our new partnership.

'UIP Japan has done an exemplary job for us for many years and we are enormously grateful to them. We acknowledge Paul Takaki and his entire staff for all their hard work and the splendid efforts they have made on our behalf.'

'We are very honoured to handle the theatrical distribution of Universal's films in Japan and are fully committed to their successful release,' Toho-Towa president Hisanori Hiranuma said.

Toho-Towa is no stranger to handling big budget Hollywood fare; its distribution credits include The Sixth Sense, Terminator 2 and 3, Mr And Mrs Smith, The Sum Of All Fears, Spy Game, Black Hawk Down and Marie Antoinette. It is a subsidiary of entertainment giant Toho Company which is also one of Japan's principal exhibitors.

UIP Japan will continue to handle titles from Paramount Pictures in Japan, while DreamWorks titles are distributed by Kadokawa Herald Pictures.

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