Stone to make his third visit to Zurich Film Festival which gets underway September 20; thriller has grossed an estimated $46m in US and rolls out internationally in September.

Oliver Stone thriller Savages will open the eighth Zurich Film Festival (Sept 20 -30) on September 20.

Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Travolta, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demián Bichir star in the thriller about two marijuana growers who face off against a Mexican drug cartel who kidnap their shared girlfriend.

Universal’s Savages has grossed an estimated $46m after six weeks in the US and an estimated $2.5m in Mexico. The film rolls out internationally through September.

Zurich director Karl Spoerri said: “We’re honoured to welcome Oliver Stone back to Zurich and excited to host the European premiere of his latest film Savages. This will make for an extraordinary opening to the festival.”

Stone makes his third trip to the festival, where he has been the recipient of the Golden Icon Award and screened several films.

Jerry Weintraub will be in Zurich to receive a special career achievement award.

Twitter: @andreaswiseman