Guy Ritchie & Miramax’s ‘Bush’ Sells To STX In Splashy $7M EFM Deal

EXCLUSIVE: In one of the biggest deals to emerge from the 2019 EFM, STX has finalized a deal for U.S. rights to Guy Ritchie’s Miramax pic Bush — formerly known as Toff Guys — for around $7M.

Multiple suitors were in the mix for the star-studded crime-comedy, whose cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, Colin Farrell, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding and Michelle Dockery. The deal was in the works in Berlin and has just been completed.

While the EFM was relatively sedate in comparison to a blockbuster Sundance, this is one of the biggest deals ever to come out of the Berlin market which wrapped last week. We understand Focus committed around $9M this year for Carey Mulligan pic Promising Young Woman while in 2016 Paramount paid around $10M for Suburbicon. TWC bought The Imitation Game for $7M in 2014.

Written by Ritchie with Marn Davies and Ivan Atkinson, Bush returns the Brit filmmaker to his Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch roots. But with a twist. Ritchie also produces the film which follows a very British drug lord who tries to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire to a dynasty of Oklahoma billionaires. Currently in post-production, the film is likely to launch later this year.

CAA Media Finance brokererd the U.S. deal on behalf of Miramax which previously closed a $25-30M world rights pact for the film out of Cannes last year. The company is in discussions with key international buyers about overseas rights.

Miramax has been on a roll under beIN Media Group Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi and CEO Bill Block having co-financed Halloween with Blumhouse and off the back of I, Tonya, which was nominated for three Oscars in 2018.

STX posted its first number one domestic box office opening last month with Kevin Hart comedy The Upside, which is set to cross $100M this week. Meanwhile, Ritchie is also in post-production on Disney reboot Aladdin with Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott and Will Smith.