EXCLUSIVE: UK, France among multi-million dollar buyers of Lionsgate’s Liam Neeson fantasy.

Lionsgate’s J.A. Bayona fantasy A Monster Calls has been one of the market’s hottest scripts, with multi-million dollar deals recently locking in a major territories including UK (eOne) and France (Metropolitan).

The former is believed to have closed for around $4.8m and the latter for around $3.8m.

“After the amazing success of The Impossible and with this truly lovely script, how could we not want to get into business once more with J.A. Bayona, Belen, and Patrick,” Alex Hamilton, managing director, eOne Films UK, told Screen.

Liam Neeson and Felicity Jones are set to star in the fantasy about a boy who seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mother’s terminal illness.