Peace Arch Ent. has acquired North American distribution rights to Futurikon’s French CG-animated feature film Dragon Hunters, according to Daily Variety. Co-produced by toon house Luxanimation, the film is based on Futurikon’s animated television series of the same name. The deal with Peace Arch covers all rights except for merchandizing and theatrical exhibition in the U.S. The film will be released on home video in Canada in February of 2009.
Directed by Guillaume Ivernel and Arthur Qwak, Dragon Hunters tells the story of Zoe, a young girl who decides to help her uncle, Lord Arnold, rid their kingdom of the most terrible dragon in the world. She enlists the help of Gwizdo and Lian-Chu, a pair of two-bit dragon hunters, and they set out on perilous and comical adventure. Watch the trailer at www.dragonhunters-themovie.com.
Dragon Hunters will be screened for buyers during November’s American Film Market in Santa Monica, Calif. Futurikon is hoping to land deals for the U.K., Scandinavia and other remaining territories during the market. To date, the film has sold in about 25 territories, including South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the Baltic States.
The pic has sold roughly 800,000 tickets in its native France, and about 400,000 in Russia. Based on its success, Futurikon has decided to make a feature film based on its animated series Miniscule, which employs CG animation to explore the secret lives of bugs. The movie will reportedly focus on the friendship between a ladybird and a black ant. Series creators Thomas Szabo and Helene Giraud are writing the screenplay, and Dragon Hunters co-producer Trixter is negotiating involvement.
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