In what is being lauded as some of the biggest news out of Cannes Film Festival, Lionsgate has scored the distribution rights to Blood Ties, a crime thriller about brothers on opposite sides of the law in 1970s Brooklyn. The film is features an impressive cast, with Clive Owen (Children of Men, Inside Man), Marion Cotillard (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises), Mila Kunis(Ted, Oz: the Great and Powerful), Billy Crudup (Public Enemies, Big Fish), and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Columbiana) all making appearances. It is directed by Guillaume Canet, an established French director making his English-language debut.
A Mila Kunis fan-run twitter account is reporting that the film will see a U.S. release on June 13. This has yet to be confirmed, and although the film is completed (its world premier was Monday at Cannes), that would seem to be a little quick on the turnaround. A summer release date would also call into question how Lionsgate sees the film. The trailer (below) strikes a tone somewhere between summer blockbuster and Oscar bait, and would also suggest an October 30th release, although this could be for France or another foreign territory. Still, while it’s not uncommon for U.S. and international premiers to be days, even months apart, it seems unlikely that the spread would be so broad given both Canet’s and Cotillard’s international appeal.
Blood Ties will be distributed via Lionsgate’s Roadside Attractions arm, which has previously distributed films such as Winter’s Bone, I Love You Phillip Morris, and Super Size Me.