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[LOS ANGELES, CA, May 17, 2013] – Open Road Films announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Ketchup Entertainment to handle distribution for Ketchup Entertainment’s theatrical titles across multiple windows including home entertainment, pay television, free television and non-theatrical lines of business. In addition to ancillaries, the deal includes the opportunity to partner on theatrical distribution for upcoming Ketchup Entertainment titles. The deal was announced today by Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films, and Gareth West, CEO of Ketchup Entertainment. READ MORE »
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Open Road Inks Output Deal With Ketchup Entertainment
FilmDistrict To Release 2012 Films Through Open Road And Sony
EXCLUSIVE: Following on the heels of the exit of veteran distribution executive Bob Berney, FilmDistrict CEO Peter Schlessel has made alternative distribution arrangements for the company’s 2012 film releases. Deadline has learned that Schlessel just closed a 3-picture distribution … Read More »
Brian De Palma To Direct QED’s ‘Key Man’
EXCLUSIVE: QED International and Safehouse Pictures have set Brian De Palma to direct the Joby Harold-scripted thriller The Key Man. That film was recently set for U.S. distribution with Tom Ortenberg’s Open Road Films and will … Read More »
Open Road Stakes January 27 For ‘The Grey’; Might Oscar Platform For Liam Neeson Perf
In a surprise development, Tom Ortenberg’s Open Road has set the Joe Carnahan-directed killer wolf pack thriller The Grey to open wide on Jan. 27. Now, that puts the movie beyond the Oscars. But I’m told that Open Road has left open the possibility that the film could get a qualifying run in two theaters before year’s end so that Liam Neeson would qualify for the Best Actor category. I must say I am a bit surprised that the qualifying run isn’t an automatic. Buyers who watched the movie and bid on it in July before Open Road won it — paying near $8 million and a $25 million P&A commitment for U.S. rights — all hailed Neeson’s performance as Oscar bait. The deal was based on watching 30 minutes of scenes, but word was that opening this year, even just to qualify, was a priority for the sellers and a reason some distributors with full Oscar-season skeds shied away. Neeson plays the leader of a group of oil drillers who struggle to survive in the wilds of Alaska after their plane crashes smack in the middle of a territorial rogue wolf pack. Carnahan won’t finish the film in time to show it at Telluride, Toronto or the New York Film Festival, but they will get enough feedback from advance screenings to make a decision about whether it’s ready to wage an Oscar campaign for Neeson, who was nominated once in his career for Schindler’s List and has enjoyed a leading man resurgence thanks to Taken. Here is Open Road’s official announcement about the date: Read More »
Open Road Buys ‘Silent House,’ Eyes March 2012 Release
LOS ANGELES, CA, July 21, 2011 – Open Road Films has partnered with Liddell Entertainment for the U.S. release of SILENT HOUSE. The announcement was made today by Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films and Mickey Liddell, CEO of Liddell Entertainment.
Directed by fillmmaking duo Chris Kentis and
TOLDJA! Open Road Acquires U.S. Rights To Joe Carnahan’s Wolf Tale ‘The Grey’
Deadline told you last Friday that upstart distributor Open Road would close a big deal for U.S. distribution rights to The Grey, Joe Carnahan’s thriller about a group of oil drillers whose plane crashes in Alaska, smack in the … Read More »
Joe Carnahan’s Wolf Pic ‘The Grey’ Has Bidders Hungry After 30-Minute Reel
EXCLUSIVE: Based on a 30-minute reel being shown to distributors as we speak, bidding is getting hot and heavy on The Grey, the Joe Carnahan-directed drama about an oil-drilling team struggling to survive in the wilds of Alaska after their plane crashes smack in the middle of a territorial rogue wolf pack. Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, Nonso Anozie and Joe Anderson star in the film. CAA is shopping the Scott Free-produced pic, and I’ve heard that Warner Bros, Open Road, Summit, Lionsgate, The Weinstein Company and FilmDistrict are all in the mix.
The movie’s had heat on it since CAA showed a three-minute reel right after the Cannes Film Festival. The ask is in the $8 million range minimum guarantee and a release upwards of 3000 screens and the deal will certainly be in the seven-figures based on what I’ve heard about the footage. But the bidding is complicated by one thing: the filmmakers are insisting that The Grey be released later this year. It makes sense for a cold-weather film that has a Neeson performance that could be in the Oscar mix. And the film is ready to build buzz that starts with festivals like Toronto. The complication is, several of the distributors have crowded late-year release schedules. This could give an edge to a distributor like Tom Ortenberg’s Open Road, which is looking for exactly this kind of wide-release film. Read More »
Open Road Makes Netflix Deal
Well, now we know that Open Road is for real. The upstart distribution company run by Tom Ortenberg and funded by theater chains Regal and AMC have made a streaming deal with Netflix that will begin with its first film, Killler Elite, with Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. Here’s the announcement:
Los Angeles, CA, June 28, 2011 – Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Open Road Films today announced a multi-year agreement to bring movies distributed theatrically by Open Road Films exclusively to Netflix for digital streaming in the “pay TV window,” after their release on DVD. The deal will allow Netflix members to instantly watch OpenRoad Films titles on various devices streaming from Netflix.
Open Road To Acquire U.S. Distribution On Stephenie Meyer’s ‘The Host’
EXCLUSIVE: Open Road, the upstart distribution company formed by theater chains AMC and Regal, is making its second big acquisition. Tom Ortenberg’s company is acquiring domestic distribution rights to The Host, the Andrew Niccol-directed adaptation of Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer’s novel. I’m told that the there were at least three other distributors trying to get this and that the deal will be a seven-figure minimum guarantee, a healthy P&A commitment, and gross for participants that include the author.
Saoirse Ronan is set to play heroine Melanie Stryder, one of the last humans putting up a fight against an alien species called Souls, parasites that invade human bodies, fuse to each person’s consciousness and systematically erase their personalities. Melanie is captured by the aliens and implanted by a Soul called Wanderer. While Wanderer’s goal is to get Melanie to give up the remaining pockets of humans, the alien finds Melanie to be unique in her unwillingness to surrender her consciousness. Wanderer is so overwhelmed by Melanie’s memories and feelings that she is driven to reconnect with Melanie’s old life, which includes falling for Melanie’s boyfriend. The result is a complex, romantic and emotional human/alien love triangle. Nick Wechsler, Meyer, Paula Mae Schwartz and Steve Schwartz are producing. Inferno’s Marc Butan, Jim Seibel and Bill Johnson are exec producers and Roger Schwartz is co-producer. Read More »
Open Road Inks Home Entertainment Deal With Universal
Open Road Films, the recently launched theatrical distribution company from exhibitors AMC and Regal, has signed a multiyear agreement with Universal Studios Home Entertainment to handle all marketing, sales and distribution services for Blu-ray, DVD and digital platforms of Open … Read More »
Open Road Sets First Release With Fall Date On ‘Killer Elite’
Open Road, the distribution company hatched earlier this year by theater chains AMC and Regal with Tom Ortenberg at the helm, has set its first release. Open Road set a September 23, 2011 date for Killer Elite, the Gary McKendry-directed … Read More »
Cannes: Tom Ortenberg Makes First Big Open Road Acquisition With ‘Killer Elite’
Open Road, the new distribution company launched by theater chains AMC and Regal to find films that can play in wide release, has made its first major deal as Tom Ortenberg closed U.S. rights to the action film Killer Elite, which stars Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. … Read More »
AMC/Regal’s Film Distribution Venture Open Road Sets Executive Team
Tom Ortenberg has put together his executive team for Open Road Films, the indie film distribution company launched by theater chains AMC and Regal. As Deadline told you last month, former executive vice president of Worldwide Marketing for Miramax Jason Cassidy is Open Road’s new president of marketing. Ortenberg also named Elliott Kleinberg General Counsel and exec veep of operations and business affairs, Steven Andriuzzo as chief financial officer, and Ben Cotner as senior veep of acquisitions. Deadline also reported that Liz Biber will head publicity, but that apparently hasn’t happened yet.
“These key hires mean that we’re open for business,” Ortenberg told Deadline. “We’re fully operational, and we’ll be out in full force in Tribeca and Cannes shopping for new product.”
Cassidy started at Miramax in 1997. Kleinberg was COO at United Artists; Andriuzzo was at Paramount as senior veep of planning and finance for the domestic home entertainment division, and before that headed corporate finance and was Motion Picture Group controller at DreamWorks. Cotner previously served as exec director of acquisitions and co-productions at the Paramount Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group. Before that, he worked at Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics. Read More »
Open Road Head Tom Ortenberg Zeroes In On Jason Cassidy And Liz Biber For Posts
EXCLUSIVE: Open Road is staffing up. The indie film distribution company launched by theater chains AMC and Regal with distribution veteran Tom Ortenberg in charge is in discussions with Jason Cassidy to become Open Road’s head of marketing, with Liz Biber in talks to head publicity. Ortenberg should have his … Read More »
Theater Chains AMC, Regal Launch Distribution Venture Open Road With Tom Ortenberg At Helm
The country’s two largest theatrical exhibition chains, AMC and Regal, this morning officially launched Open Road, a venture that will acquire and distribute films that can play in wide release on about 2000 screens. Distribution veteran Tom Ortenberg will run the company. He expects to have three pictures out starting this fall. “Once we’re up and running, we will be distributing 8 to 10 films per year, and possibly more,” Ortenberg said.
The move had been expected since the Sundance Film Festival in January. Open Road joins a crowding field of companies targeting wide-release finished films. What’s unusual here is that two theater chains are behind what Ortenberg termed a “straight content play.” The two entities control between 5,000 and 6,000 venues each in the U.S. (Regal is slightly larger) and between them are responsible for about 31% of the theaters in the U.S., doing about 45% of weekly business. Theater chains like AMC and Regal have railed as big studios continue to shrink theatrical windows on their event films. This venture gives the chains a little opportunity to push back: When those same studios supply stinkers that barely pack theaters or after their big films are mostly played out and hanging on to squeeze out those final drops of theatrical revenue, AMC and Regal can conceivably allocate screens to its own product. Just recently, AMC and Regal were among the chains that said they would not give screens to films that DirectTV wants to show on VOD four to six weeks after theatrical release.
While the largest allocation of P&A is TV commercials, Open Road product has the potential benefit of in-house promotion for films that will get at least 25% of theater penetration in AMC and Regal theaters. Ortenberg said he was unsure exactly how those promotional opportunities would manifest themselves.
“At its core, Open Road is a content play that recognizes that in many weeks of the year, AMC and Regal have excess capacity in their theaters,” Ortenberg told Deadline. “What’s better than to address this by filling those screens with great movies and stories looking for distribution? These films will be playing in all theater chains nationwide, and we will be competing for the same films that other midsize distribution companies go after. We will be an acquisitions-based company. We will not produce, we will not develop, but we are open to pre-buying from script stage or acquiring a completed film. Within those parameters, we will look for films we can acquire at an attractive price and market and distribute in a cost-effective manner to as broad an audience as possible. My experience shows those pictures will be available.” Read More »
Tom Ortenberg Puts Theater Chains In Distribution Business
When I was at Sundance, the buzz was about theater chains getting into the distribution game, with Tom Ortenberg at the reins. Regal Entertainment and AMC Entertainment are the chains and they are formalizing a new company to become another film buyer, per an LA Times story. Some at … Read More »
Apparition Cuts Staff, Nears ‘Tree of Life’ Distribution Deal
In a pre-Toronto blow to the indie film community, Bill Pohlad’s Apparition has let go almost the entire staff that hadn’t been laid off in July. That means about 8 staffers have followed the original cut of about 15 staffers. … Read More »
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