Following a stellar 19 months at the Australian and NZ box office, which has seen Rialto Distribution generate Australian and NZ box office in excess of $25M, their upward projectory is set to continue with a raft of fabulous new features for the coming year.
Said CEO, Kelly Rogers, “We’re proud to have such a strong slate to present to ANZ audiences and grateful, that despite the challenging global circumstances of the last eighteen months, we’re in the fortunate position of being poised to unveil what promises to be our best line-up ever in 2022.”
To date, Rialto has acquired the following titles for Australia and New Zealand:
BLACKLIGHT
Directed by Mark Williams (Honest Thief) and filmed in Melbourne, Victoria during last year’s lockdown, this edge-of-your-seat thriller stars Liam Neeson as Travis Block, a shadowy Government agent, who specializes in removing operatives whose covers have been exposed. But his world implodes when he detects a deadly conspiracy, within his own ranks, linked to the highest echelons. Reminiscent of Neeson’s Taken franchise, Blacklight promises big entertainment.
BEST SELLERS.
Starring the legendary Sir Michael Caine as a cranky, retired author who reluctantly embarks on a final book tour to aid a young publisher, this heart-warming comedy is destined to be a major hit with mature audiences. Directed by Lina Roessler and also starring Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes and Scott Speedman. Releases Dec/Jan in Australia/NZ.
THE HATING GAME
Starring Pretty Little Liars actor Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell (Fantasy Island) and based on the hit novel by Sally Thorne – ranked in Oprah Magazine’s 20 Best Romance Novels of All-Time, this engaging battle of the sexes tells the story of kind-hearted Lucy Hutton (Hale) and her cold, efficient nemesis Joshua Templeton (Stowell). Resolving to achieve professional success without compromising her ethics, Lucy embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against Josh, a rivalry that is impossibly complicated by her growing attraction to him.
ONE SECOND
Described by Screen Daily as “an emotionally satisfying celebration of how cinema is experienced both individually and collectively,” this latest feature from renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern) is the type of accessible auteur cinema that the specialty market sorely needs to experience a theatrical resurgence in 2022.
NINE BULLETS
Directed by Gigi Gaston & starring Sam Worthington (Avatar) Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones), Barbara Hershey (Insidious) and Dean Scott Vasquez (Jack Ryan), Nine Bullets follows Gypsy Moon (Headey), a tough and sexy burlesque dancer by night, and an intellectual, aspiring novelist by day. On the eve of her last dance, Gypsy embarks upon a nail-biting, action-packed ride across state lines to save a neighbour’s son (Vasquez), whose life is threatened by her former lover (Worthington).
THE BIG TRIP 2: SPECIAL DELIVERY
In this animated charmer for young and old which takes up where 2019’s The Big Trip left off, it’s been a year since Mic Mic and Oscar returned from their incredible adventure. But now, after a diabolical plan by the dastardly Vulture to sabotage the delivery of a Grizzly Cub to his opponent in the American presidential elections, the team again set off on another great quest, determined to return the little Cub to its rightful parents, whilst saving the American elections and the whole continent from an erupting volcano.
MERCY ROAD
Directed by John Curran and starring Luke Bracey (Hacksaw Ridge, Point Break), this Aussie action-thriller follows a construction contractor who commits an impulsive and vicious crime which catapults him into a clock-ticking chess match with a dangerous criminal with the highest of stakes…his daughter’s life.
MURU
Directed by Tearepa Kahi (Poi-E, Herbs. Mt. Zion) and starring Cliff Curtis (The Meg, Walking Dead, Avatar), Jay Ryan (IT Chapter 2), Manu Bennett (The Hobbit), Simone Kessell (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Reckoning) and Roimata Fox (Cowboy Bebop), this New Zealand action-adventure – filmed predominantly in the Maori language – is based on true events and shot entirely in New Zealand. A local Ma?ori cop has his loyalties tested when the government’s Armed Offenders Squad launch a raid in his own community, forcing him to choose between who he protects and which side he serves. An action-drama feature in the spirit of Utu, Sicario and Wind River.
THE TANK
Directed by Scott Walker (The Frozen Ground) and featuring visual effects by the famed Peter Jackson-owned Weta Studios, this chilling horror movie, which will be in the vein of A Quiet Place, centres on a young family that inherits a remote coastal property in Oregon. Whilst attempting to repair a buried water tank, they inadvertently awaken a horde of ferocious creatureds that feed on the living.
Featured image : A still from the Rialto Distribution film BEST SELLERS