Nick Meyer’s Sierra/Affinity has completed worldwide sales of Sundance breakout Manchester By The Sea, with Universal Pictures International Productions taking multiple territories including Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, and Japan. The Kenneth Lonergan-helmed pic was one of the best reviewed in Park City last month where it secured a $10M domestic deal with Amazon as brokered by WME Global.
Several leading international independent distributors also acquired the film, along with Sony Worldwide Acquisitions which had come aboard at last year’s EFM.
“We are beyond pleased that Universal has come on board to distribute this powerful drama in multiple territories around the globe,” said Meyer. “When we introduced the film to buyers during the European Film Market in Berlin last year, Sony, along with many of our distributors, had the foresight to get behind the film well-before it was finished and for that we are appreciative. The film’s powerful debut during Sundance this year continues to show the world Kenneth Lonergan’s prowess as a writer/director who can harness a cast of world-class artists and marry them with great storytelling and beautiful imagery. We could not be more proud to represent this film and work with Kenneth and the film’s producers Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, and Kevin Walsh.”
Scripted by Lonergan, Manchester By The Sea stars Casey Affleck as a man who, after the death of his brother, is forced to return home to care for his 16-year old nephew and confront a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was raised. Kyle Chandler and Michelle Williams also star.
Other UPIP markets include New Zealand, Benelux, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, the Middle East, and CIS. Sony has Latin America, Scandinavia, Iceland, Asia pay, Baltics, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ex-Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
In the UK, Studiocanal will release. Elsewhere the distributors are as follows: Ster Kinekor (South Africa), Feel Good Entertainment (Greece), Lusomundo (Portugal), Ascot Elite (Switzerland), Golden Scene (Hong Kong), Able Entertainment (Korea), Caichange International (Taiwan), M Pictures (Thailand), United King (Israel), and Fabula (Turkey).
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