Anna Kendrick

Source: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Anna Kendrick

AGC Studios has closed a raft of pre-sales from TIFF on Richard Linklater’s Hitman and Anna Kendrick’s The Dating Game, both of which start production in October.

Company chairman and CEO Stuart Ford held in-person and virtual buyer presentations on September 8 with Linklater and Glen Powell in attendance for Hitman and director, star and producer Kendrick turning up for The Dating Game.

Hitman has gone to Leonine Studios for Germany and Switzerland; SND for France, Sun Distribution for Latin America and Spain; WW Entertainment BV for Benelux; BIM Distribuzione for Italy; and VVS Film for Canada.

Elsewhere Scanbox Entertainment has acquired rights for Scandinavia; Paradise/MGN for the Baltic States; Kino Swiat for Poland; Selim Ramia for the Middle East; Nos Lusomundo for Portugal; Empire Entertainment for South Africa; United King Film for Israel; Aqua for Turkey; and KCS for former Yugoslavia.

Principal photography is scheduled to start early next month in New Orleans in early October on the noir comedy starring Powell (Top Gun: Maverick, TIFF world premiere Devotion) and Adria Arjona in the story of the most sought-after hitman in New Orleans who works for the police.

Deals on The Dating Game have closed with Telepool for Germany; Signature Entertainment for the UK and Ireland; Sun Distribution for Latin America, Spain and Portugal; VVS Films for Canada; Lucky Red for Italy; Roadshow Films for Australia and New Zealand; and Mis Label for Scandinavia.

AQS has acquired the film for the Czech Republic; Kinowelt for Poland; KCS for former Yugoslavia; GPI for the Baltic States; Empire Entertainment for South Africa; Aqua for Turkey; Selim Ramia for the Middle East; and United King Film for Israel.

Production is set for Vancouver in late October. Kendrick stars in the true story as bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw on the hit 1970’s TV matchmaking show The Dating Game, who chose handsome bachelor number one, Rodney Alcala, who unbeknownst to everyone was a serial killer.

“At a time when the international theatrical market is still feeling its way back, it’s encouraging to see such strong pre-sales activity on both of these exciting projects,” said Ford. “The talent participation in Toronto was certainly a major factor in that strong sales performance and it confirms AGC’s worldview that the international pre-sale model is still an effective one for intelligent, commercial projects with bankable talent and that are presented to distributors in the right manner and at the right budget levels”.”

AGC Studios is in post-production on Pierre Morel’s action comedy Freelance staring John Cena, Alison Brie and Juan Pablo Raba; Chris Pine’s directorial debut Poolman with Pine, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Jennifer Jason Leigh and DeWanda Wise; Christian Ditter’s family comedy The Present starring Isla Fisher and Greg Kinnear; Christopher Smith’s supernatural thriller Consecration with Jena Malone and Danny Huston, and Rupert Wyatt’s Desert Warrior starring Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart and Ben Kingsley. All these titles are on track to deliver in 2022 or early 2023.