[i]Major to distribute six pics from U.K. indie’s slate[/i]
‘Law Abiding Citizen’ is part of the six-pic Par-Momentum deal.
LONDON — Paramount Pictures International and U.K. distrib Momentum Pictures have inked a six picture distribution deal that will see Par execs handling the nuts and bolts of releasing Momentum’s slate theatrically, while Momentum will continue to handle marketing and publicity.
The six pictures covered under the pact are Gerard Butler starrer “Law Abiding Citizen,” Catherine Zeta-Jones starrer “The Rebound,” as well as “The Crazies,” “Dear John,” “The Season of the Witch” and “The Fighter.”
The deal is not believed to have any longer-term implications. Paramount initially contacted Momentum execs about handling their slate. That move was in response to Paramount’s barren slate through the end of the year despite a strong summer buoyed by the likes of J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek.”
Though at first hesitant to team up with a major, Momentum execs appear to have seen the upside of utilizing a studio’s booking and invoicing infrastructure. The deal is reminiscent of the pact inked earlier this March between Pathe and Warner Bros. Pathe will continue to devise the marketing strategies for its pics, as well as put up the coin for their P&A spend but the nuts and bolts of booking and invoicing theaters will now be the responsibility of WB.
The first pic to be released out of the Paramount-Momentum alliance will be the Film Dept.’s “Law Abiding Citizen” in the U.K. on Nov. 27.