With STX’s distributor days behind them, the fate of several notable films on their slate remains in question.
Specifically, Guy Ritchie’s action-heist film “Operation Fortune,” Michael Mann’s big-budget “Ferrari” biopic, and the Daisy Ridley-led thriller “The Marsh King’s Daughter” are all caught in a release limbo right now.
There have been murmurings of a deal being in the works with Lionsgate, which would see Lionsgate take on at least some (and possibly all) STX’s movies for distribution. Several STX executives have already moved to Lionsgate as well, but until a deal is set the films are stuck.
According to Deadline, the Jason Statham, Josh Hartnett and Aubrey Plaza-led “Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre” is now “most likely” to head to a streaming service for a domestic release. International distributors aren’t waiting around and are expected to begin rolling out the film from January.
Neil Burger’s “The Marsh King’s Daughter” is finished, with discussions now going on regarding how it can be released with several alternatives under consideration.
The highest-profile film on the list is the $90 million Adam Driver-led “Ferrari” which only wrapped filming this month. The film very much intends to have a big theatrical rollout, and the current expectation is that Lionsgate will take the movie should their deal with STX go through.
Should they opt not to release the movie theatrically, Mann and fellow producer P.J. van Sandwijk reportedly have the right to seek a domestic theatrical partner elsewhere. The fate of the “Greenland” sequel, currently in pre-production, is unclear for now.
Lionsgate already has a rather packed 2023 with theatrical runs planned for “John Wick 4,” the “Hunger Games” prequel and the “Borderlands” movie. Meanwhile, the new STX is expected to operate primarily as a production entity producing a dozen or so films a year.
