Eagle Pictures, a leading Italian distribution and production company, has signed a home entertainment distribution deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment Italia. Kicking off April 1, the deal covers the distribution of feature films and TV series on DVD and Blu-ray Discs in Italy.
Eagle Pictures already boasts distribution deals with Paramount Pictures International and MGM to release their movies in Italy. Presided by Tarak Ben Ammar and headed by Andrea Goretti, Eagle Pictures also handles home entertainment releases for fellow Italian distribution companies such as Leone Film Group, Lucky Red, Notorious Pictures and Rai Cinema.
Upcoming Sony Pictures titles include “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”, “Peter Rabbit 2,” “Uncharted,” the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters films “Morbius” and “Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage” and the third film in the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” series (pictured).
Sony Pictures Entertainment’s vast library comprises titles such as “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, “Blade Runner 2049”, “Angry Birds”, “Moneyball”, “Men in Black”, “Outlander” & “The Crown”, among many other new and library Features and TV series.
“We are proud and very happy with this agreement through which a major studio like Sony Pictures has entrusted us with the distribution of its product, allowing us to consolidate our leadership among independent distributors,” said Goretti, Eagle Pictures CEO.
Zelda Stewart, the country manager for Sony Pictures Entertainment Italia, said she felt that “Eagle’s passion for top quality content made them the perfect local partner for the distribution of our catalogue and upcoming new releases.”
Eagle Pictures, which ranks as Italy’s number one independent distributor, has been thriving with home entertainment releases that have been bringing some decent margins while theaters are shut down due to the pandemic, explained Goretti, who mentioned that Eagle Pictures boasts a library of 1200 titles, on top of nearly 3000 titles that it manages. “This pact with Sony Pictures underscores our track record in Italy, as well as our strong marketing skills,” said the executive.
Aside from its distribution activities, Eagle Pictures is also increasingly involved in production. One of the company’s recent films, Nate Parker’s timely police brutality drama “American Skin,” was released in the U.S. on Martin Luther King day, Jan. 18, by Vertical Entertainment, across 73 cinemas and on transactional VOD across multiple platforms. The movie topped the “watched at home” chart (tracking transactional video activity) for the week that ended on Jan. 23 and will next be released by Lionsgate on DVD on March 9. “American Skin,” which eligible for the Oscars, has been praised on social media by several personalities, including “Lupin” star Omar Sy and LeBron James.
