African-American media mogul Byron Allen has acquired Mandy Moore’s shark thriller 47 Meters Down from the Weinstein brothers.
The movie follows the story of two sisters who go on vacation in Mexico and go cage diving. However, their cage breaks away from the boat, and the two sisters are trapped at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by hungry Great White sharks. The only way the girls can get out is to swim the 47 meters to the surface, past the hungry sharks.
“Dimension Films has delivered us a terrific movie,” Allen said. “We have paid a premium for 47 Meters Down because we really believe in the genre, and in the film.”
Dimension’s Matthew Singer also said, “We love this film and support the filmmakers. We even contributed additional funds to enhance the picture. Our original plan was to release the film before The Shallows, but since that couldn’t happen, we decided to go with a more conservative release strategy that would take place this summer. When the producers brought us Entertainment Studios, who will release the movie wide next year, we all agreed this would be the best option for everyone involved and were happy to make a deal. We wish Entertainment Studios the best of luck and couldn’t be happier for the filmmakers.”
Allen now has North American rights to the shark thriller. The film will be distributed in over 2,500 theaters through Entertainment Studio’s newly purchased theatrical distribution company Freestyle Releasing.
Entertainment Studios recently reached a multiyear output deal with both Netflix and Anchor Bay/Starz and looks to distribute 100 motion pictures during the next 5 years.
TheGrio.com was acquired by Entertainment Studios in June 2016.