Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired US rights to Oliver Hirschbiegel's Das Experiment, the German box office hit which is also the Germany entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.

The deal was struck by Joe Drake, president of Senator International which represents the film, with Samuel Goldwyn Films' president Meyer Gottlieb, and director of acquisitions Tom Quinn. The film will be released domestically through IDP, the theatrical distribution joint venture between Goldwyn, Fireworks Pictures and Stratosphere Entertainment.

Only this week, Goldwyn announced that it was partnering with Fireworks Pictures on US distribution of George Hickenlooper's The Man From Elysian Fields starring Andy Garcia and Mick Jagger.

Das Experiment is a psychological thriller about an experiment in which 20 men are hired to play either prisoners or guards in a makeshift prison. Based on Mario Giordano's novel Black Box, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu and has already grossed over $8m at the German box office. Senator International is handling worldwide distribution rights excluding German-speaking territories and Japan.