MALIBU, Calif., May 6, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An acquisitions team for Empire Film Group, Inc. (Pink Sheets:EFGU) (http://www.empirefilmgroup.com) will be attending the Cannes Film Festival in search of new theatrical and video titles for release in the USA marketplace. Headed by Empire Distribution CEO Eric Parkinson, the Empire team has meetings and plans to review over 150 new titles for potential licensing, including several high profile theatrical releases. The Festival de Cannes and Marche Du Film marketplace will be held from May 13 through May 24 in Cannes, France. The annual event attracts most of the world's major film and television producers and provides an ideal forum for the presentation of new titles.
"We are very encouraged by the quality and the quantity of commercial new films that are presently available," said Parkinson. "The continued movement by the Major Studios towards mega-event-level pictures and franchise-branded sequels has created an opportunity for companies like Empire Film Group to acquire very commercial titles with little competition for these rights. For the most part, independently produced films are not currently being pursued by the major studios. This has created a unique opportunity for Empire to pursue the acquisition of high-profile titles that have significant and predictable box office potential," he continued.
Empire is building its roster of theatrical titles for release in 2009 and 2010. The company recently announced that the award-winning family drama, "War Eagle, Arkansas," will be released to theaters beginning June 12, 2009. Another major acquisition, the $16 million, CGI-animated sci-fi epic, "Thru The Moebius Strip," will be released in late summer. A total of six new titles are planned for theatrical release in 2009 and twelve titles are slated for theaters in 2010. Additionally, the company plans to release twenty-eight titles to the DVD and Blu-ray markets in 2009 and approximately thirty-six video releases in 2010.
"While we understand the preference for the major studios to want only mega-event-level theatrical releases, we do not believe that their philosophy properly services the broad tastes of the American movie-going audiences," explained Parkinson. "We believe that there is a major business opportunity for Empire to satisfy the demand for unique and diverse films with our carefully planned release schedule. Clearly, there will always be a market in the USA for big-budget, bombastic action films on 4,000 or more screens. But we believe that a greater return-on-investment as a studio supplier is achievable through targeted acquisitions and releases of films on less than 1,000 screens."
News of Empire acquisitions from the Cannes market will be released, commencing Friday, May 15.
Empire owns or controls a library of more than 170 titles for the U.S. market, over half of which are currently in release. Top selling current DVD titles for Empire include "Hounddog" starring Dakota Fanning, "Come Away Home" starring Lea Thompson, "Grand Champion" starring Bruce Willis and Emma Roberts, and "Teen Yoga" starring Miss Teen USA (2005), Allie LaForce.
Learn more about Empire Film Group at www.empirefilmgroup.com.