German video distributor and licence trader Splendid Medien has struck a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox which will market Splendid's burgeoning slate in the German theatrical and pay-TV sectors for the next two years.

The widely anticipated deal (Screen International, Oct 17), which also covers Austria and German-speaking Switzerland, includes titles such as Robert Altman's Dr T And The Women, Steven Soderbergh's Traffic and Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York, all of which are financed by Splendid's 49% owned subsidiary Initial Entertainment Group (IEG). Splendid will stump up p&a costs on the films' theatrical releases.

Splendid, which is believed to be seeking similar deals in other territories, will retain German-speaking video, DVD and free-TV rights.

"This new distribution agreement will considerably enhance the marketing potential for our films," said Splendid chief executive Andreas Klein, in an announcement made jointly with Vincent De La Tour, Fox's managing director in Germany.

Fox Germany also has deals with Intertainment to handle video and pay-TV distribution of its Franchise Pictures and Original Voices-derived slate and another with Prokino, that it signed last March.

Other titles under the Splendid deal are Jackie Chan-starrer Gorgeous, Under Suspicion and The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys, co-produced by Jodie Foster and Meg LeFauve's Egg Pictures, with which IEG has a deal. However, noticeably absent from the slate listed by Splendid in a statement is another IEG project based on the life of boxing legend Mohammed Ali.