Double Oscar Nominee ‘Flow’ Joins Criterion Collection, Floats Past Box Office Milestone

Sideshow and Janus Films are excited to announce that Gints Zilbalodis’ award-winning, box office indie animated hit Flow will join The Criterion Collection later this year. The critically esteemed feature film from Dream Well (Latvia), Sacrebleu Productions (France) and Take Five (Belgium) will receive a special edition 4K release on disc through the deal.

“It’s an absolute dream come true to see Flow featured in the Criterion Collection alongside the legendary filmmakers I grew up admiring, like Cuarón, Anderson and Scorsese. I can’t thank Criterion enough for this incredible honor!” said Zilbalodis. I’m thrilled to collaborate with them on the ultimate 4K special edition of Flow. I have so much great stuff to share. It’s going to be amazing!”

Flow is one of the most acclaimed films of the year. It is nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature (Latvia). The film just won the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature (Independent) and Best Writing. It also won the Golden Globe, European Film Award, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Films Critics Association awards for Best Animated Feature. It is nominated for the BAFTA for Best Animated Film and Best Children’s and Family Film, the César for Best Animated Film, the ACE Eddie and the Art Directors Guild Award.

In addition to its awards season success, Flow just passed $4 million at the North American box office and continues to play in theaters across the country. Variety today reported that sales agency Charades has calculated the dialog-free film’s international box office at more than $20 million per its most recent numbers, easily one of the most commercially successful indie animated contenders of recent years (excluding Hayao Miyazaki’s much-hyped The Boy and the Heron).

The film will make its streaming debut exclusively on Max in the U.S. this Friday, February 14. The film will debut on HBO linear on Saturday, February 15 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Flow is directed by Zilbalodis, written by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža, and produced by Zilbalodis, Kaža, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman.

Synopsis: A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet.

From the boundless imagination of the award-winning filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.