Johnnie To’s crime saga set for US release next month.

Well Go USA has teamed with Variance Films to bring Johnnie To’s crime saga, Drug War, to North American audiences.

It will debut in New York at the IFC Center on July 26. The film will then expand in a platform release throughout the summer starting on August 2 with Los Angeles, and August 9 in the top 10 US markets including Canadian markets Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa..

Drug War marks the eighth collaboration between Well Go USA and Variance Films, following films such as Ip Man 2, Tai Chi Zero and Let the Bullets Fly.

Drug War has previously played at film festivals including Rome, Rotterdam and London, in addition to US festivals from Seattle and Los Angeles to its upcoming screening at the New York Asian Film Festival.

The film is about a drug cartel boss who is arrested in a raid and coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.

It marks Hong Kong film-maker To’s first mainland production.