Shout! Studios, a multi-platform company that is part of Shout! Factory, acquired all sorts of rights to the action disaster “Fire” in North America.
The blockbuster “Fire” starring Konstantin Khabenskiy was released at theaters in Russia on December 24, 2020 and has already grossed more than $ 10 million at home.
The film is sold abroad by the film company Central Partnership (part of Gazprom-Media). In addition to North America, the film directed by Alexei Nuzhny has already been sold to Australia and New Zealand (Umbrella Entertainment), Germany and German-speaking Europe (Capelight Pictures), Spain (Mediaset), Latin America (BF Distribution), Japan (Culture Entertainment), South Korea ( BoXoo Entertainment) and Taiwan (Movie Cloud).
The US release will take place in the summer of 2021.
Jordan Fields, VP of Purchasing, Shout! Studios:
‘Fire is a high-octane action thriller with impressive footage and real heroes. An emotionally and visually powerful confrontation between man and nature.’
Vadim Vereshchagin, General Director of Central Partnership:
‘Every year forest fires cause enormous damage to nature and entail human casualties. This applies to everyone, regardless of country. The heroes of the film will be recognizable in every corner of the world, because such guys are everywhere. Not invented Marvel superheroes, but those who live on the next street, whom you can meet on the way to work, who are ready to go to fight the terrible elements every day. In the United States, the problem of forest fires is no less acute, and we are glad that buyers became interested in the painting, believing in its potential and appreciating its scale and quality. For us, as a distributor, now, during a pandemic and crisis in the cinema business, this is especially important. We continue to actively work towards strengthening the position of Russian cinema in the international arena.’
Filming of Nikita Mikhalkov’s project, which is unprecedented in complexity and scale, by Studio TRITE, the Russia 1 TV channel, and the Central Partnership film company took place in 2019. In particular, the film crew worked in the Krasnoyarsk Territory during real forest fires. At the same time, when creating the fire element, the film’s team did not destroy a single living tree: they bought already cut trees, from which large-scale forest scenery was built.
The actors of the film tried to perform dangerous stunts on their own and worked in the environment of real fire, inside the fire. The project team was consulted by experts from the Ministry of Emergencies and Avialesoohrana.
In addition, these services provided unique air transport for filming – Mi-8 helicopters, Il-62, An-26 aircraft and multipurpose Be-200. The scene of extinguishing a forest fire, in which the Be-200 seaplane was involved, was filmed simultaneously with six cameras. The previous box-office hit of Studio TRITE in partnership with the Russia 1 TV channel, the blockbuster ‘Three Seconds’, became the highest-grossing Russian film in the history of its distribution in China.
US and Canadian viewers will be able to appreciate the heroic story about firefighters and rescuers “Fire” in the summer of 2021.
