EXCLUSIVE: Beijing-based Hugoeast has secured sales rights to Shen Ao’s historical war drama Dead To Rights in selected territories.
The company will handle the sales in Asia (excluding Southeast Asia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macao), Europe (excluding theatrical rights in Germany, Italy, Russia and the UK), Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
The film is produced by the China Film Group (CFG), which has previously sold the feature to around 20 territories, including the above territories not handled by Hugoeast.
These include Australia, New Zealand and North America, where Niu Vision released the film on August 7 and August 15 respectively. It opened in Germany on August 28 and is set for release in the UK tomorrow (September 5), both through European Times. The film was also released in Malaysia and Singapore on August 28 through Mega Films and Shaw Organisation respectively.
Following its opening on July 25, the film has taken more than $400m (RMB2.9bn) in mainland China, becoming the biggest title of the summer in the country and leading box office growth during the season.
Inspired by true events, the film is set against the backdrop of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre during the early stages of the Second World War. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the conflict.
The story follows a group of Nanjing residents who take refuge in a photo studio, where they are forced to assist a Japanese photographer. While developing his negatives, they uncover photographic evidence of wartime atrocities and risk their lives to preserve the images.
The cast is headed by Liu Haoran, known for the Detective Chinatown franchise; Wang Chuanjun, who previously worked with director Shen on No More Bets; Gao Ye of Article 20 and Wang Xiao from Endless Journey.
“We seek stories that resonate deeply with audiences and showcase strong creative voices, especially those of women on and off screen,” said Hugoeast CEO Pamela Bai. “Dead To Rights captures this spirit perfectly, following the female character’s powerful journey of survival and courage during turbulent times as portrayed by Gao Ye.”
Hugoeast is known as a distributor of acclaimed international films in China, with recent acquisitions including Quentin Dupieux’s The Piano Accident and Sho Miyake’s All The Long Nights alongside restored classics such as Mia Hansen-Love’s Things to Come, Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.
It has also handled international sales for Chinese titles such as Shao Yihui’s Shanghai-set romance B For Busy, Yang Lizhu’s documentary Never Too Late, and Chen Xiaoyu’s family drama Gone With the Boat.
Through Dead To Rights, the company is now expanding its international sales business into commercial cinema, with a focus on bringing more Chinese films to global audiences.
“While arthouse cinema remains at the heart of our slate, we are also embracing select commercial projects,” added Bai.
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