Fred Kogel’s ambitious new German production and distribution group has bought Rian Johnson’s star-studded murder mystery Knives Out for Germany and Austria.
The deal with Lionsgate International and MRC is for all-rights in the two territories. A release date has yet to be set.
The newly founded media company, which is still unnamed, comprises Tele München Group, Universum Film, i&u TV and Wiedemann & Berg Film. It is backed by New York investment firm KKR.
Produced by Ram Bergman and Johnson, Lionsgate and MRC are releasing Knives Out domestically on Thanksgiving.
Written and directed by Looper and Star Wars: The Last Jedi filmmaker Johnson, the movie stars Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Colette, Katherine Langford, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield and Christopher Plummer.
The Agatha Christie-inspired feature charts the fallout after renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday. When inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate, he sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan’s untimely death.
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