Eros STX and Amazon Prime Video announced yesterday they have closed a multi-year first window output deal in South Africa, effective immediately. This deal expands on the existing strategic pan-European output partnership the two companies struck in the UK, France, Italy and most recently Scandinavia, in 2021.
At the same time, longstanding South African distributor Empire Entertainment and STX have renewed their theatrical output deal, first struck in 2015. The partnership has proven extremely successful for the two companies, with STX films including The Upside, Hustlers and Greenland all performing extremely well in the territory. Empire will continue to manage the theatrical release of STX films in the region, with Amazon Prime Video taking Pay 1 Rights.
“We are thrilled to be extending our partnership with STXinternational especially in light of their exciting alliance with Amazon Prime Video,” said Debbie McCrum, MD of TV and Entertainment at Arena Holdings, who own Empire Entertainment. “We have seen great success with their films and look forward to more of the same in the future.”
As part of the multi-year Amazon deal, Prime Video subscribers in the territory will have access to view STXinternational’s slate of star-studded titles, including Memory starring Liam Neeson, The Marsh King’s Daughter with Daisy Ridley, Guy Ritchie’s upcoming spy thriller led by Jason Statham, the aerial war epic Devotion starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, Greenland: Migration, once again led by Gerard Butler, and Muscle starring Vin Diesel from director F Gary Gray.
“Our strategic decision to maximise the potential of our film slate by partnering with our friends at Amazon has proven to be incredibly effective in European markets, and we look forward to replicating this successful model in South Africa,” said John Friedberg, President of STXinternational. “This growing alliance underpins the significant expansion of our production and acquisitions slate, allowing us to offer even more of the highly commercial filmed entertainment that has become synonymous with the STX brand.”
About ErosSTX International
ErosSTX International, a division of Eros STX Global Corporation, is a full-service international film distribution and financing company with direct distribution of both Hollywood and Bollywood content in India, the UK, Ireland and the Middle East. Headquartered in London, the company has formalized an unrivalled network of key output deals with the major market leaders in 25 territories with a reach covering over 150 countries around the world. Embracing the unique opportunities in the international marketplace, the company recently closed an innovative and dynamic distribution output partnership with Amazon in the UK, France and Italy.
ErosSTX International’s successes include distributing both STXfilms’ productions and third party acquisitions, working with filmmakers including Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie and Michael Mann, as well as producing partners like Imperative/30West, Thunder Road, Black Label Media, Miramax, and Scott Free. In addition, ErosSTX International recently entered into an exclusive, multi-year international distribution output deal with leading independent production powerhouse, Black Bear Pictures. The ErosSTX International film slate includes: global box office hit Hustlers, the Bad Moms franchise, Greenland starring Gerard Butler, The Mauritanian starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim and Benedict Cumberbatch, Untitled Guy Ritchie Project directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Jason Statham, Devotion directed by JD Dillard and starring Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors, and Cop Shop directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Gerard Butler.
About Empire Entertainment
Empire Entertainment is a leading film distributor in Africa of international and local content. It is the sole distributor of Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM, and represents key independent studios including Eros STX. Empire Entertainment’s mission is to provide local and international entertainment to local screens whilst sharing authentic African entertainment with the world.
