Picturehouse has taken US rights from Wild Bunch to the
Spanish-language horror tale The Orphanage (El Ofanato), with The
Weinstein Company reportedly taking the UK, Australia and Italy.

J A Bayona is directing the Rodar Y Rodar and Estudios Picasso
co-production about a woman who returns with her husband and boy to
re-open the abandoned orphanage where she spent a happy youth and
establish a home for disabled children.

However shortly after their arrival the child begins to exhibit
strange behaviour as a sinister force pervades the building. Belen
Rueda, Fernando Cayo and Roger Princep star and Sergio G Sanchez wrote
the screenplay.

Picturehouse is reuniting on the project with Guillermo del Toro, who
produced with Mar Targarona, Alvaro Augustin and Joaquin Padro.

Picturehouse and Del Toro are currently enjoying success with the
Oscar nominee Pan's Labyrinth, which has become the biggest grossing
Spanish-language film in North America and stands at more than $26.6m.

TWC has been in a typically acquisitive mood here, previously taking
North American rights to Morgan Spurlock's Osama Bin laden documentary
and all English-speaking on Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo's
thriller Inside.

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