Shakespeare in Love, Bad Santa and Rounders will be among the first Miramax titles to have sequels developed under a new agreement between Miramax and The Weinstein Company (TWC).

Miramax and TWC today announced an agreement to create sequels to some of Miramax’s top titles and to partner on potential new television output.

Miramax will handle digital distribution on select sequel titles.

The two companies have also agreed to develop new special edition materials for Blu-ray releases, such as roundtables featuring cast and directors.

The partnership augments a pre-existing relationship between the companies on such franchises as Scream 4 (to be released April 15, 2011), Spy Kids 4 (to be released August 19, 2011) and Scary Movie 5.

“We are very close to these films and the new management of Miramax also feels that we are in the best position to create sequels that are at once worthy and compelling in their own right,” said TWC’s Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who founded Miramax in 1979 and ran it for 14 years. “We look forward to working with Mike and his team on getting these films into production as soon as possible, and extending our partnership in the years ahead.”

Mike Lang, CEO of Miramax, stated: “We are thrilled and honoured to work with Harvey and Bob Weinstein. There is no better partner to build on these great films and turn them into franchises, while also creating exciting new TV properties. This agreement will extend the Miramax library while also enabling us to create new content without committing near-term capital.”

“This is the perfect addition to our ongoing slate, giving us the ability to work on already existing franchises that have had such lucrative success at the box office, as well as a great starting ground to our newfound relationship,” stated TWC COO David Glasser.  “We clearly believe it will be mutually beneficial for both companies.”

The Miramax library contains over 700 feature titles.

Miramax had been expected to partner with a production and distribution outfit after it was acquired by Filmyard Holdings from The Walt Disney Company for $663m on December 4, 2010.

Filmyard Holdings is an investment group comprising Ron Tudor, Tom Barrack, Colony Capital and the Qatar Investment Authority..

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