DOUGLAS, Isle of Man & BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eros STX Global Corporation (NYSE: ESGC) 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.
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 maximize 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 Eros STX Global Corporation:
Eros STX Global Corporation, (“ErosSTX”) (NYSE: ESGC) is a global entertainment company that acquires, co-produces and distributes films, digital content and music across multiple formats such as theatrical, television and OTT digital media streaming to consumers around the world. Eros International Plc changed its name to Eros STX Global Corporation pursuant to the July 2020 merger with STX Entertainment, merging two international media and entertainment groups to create a global entertainment company with a presence in over 150 countries. ErosSTX delivers star-driven premium feature film and episodic content across a multitude of platforms at the intersection of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing global markets, including US, India, Middle East, Asia and China. For further information, please visit ErosSTX.com.
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.
Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements:
Information provided in this communication includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “approximately,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” “could,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will”, “trending” and similar expressions. Those statements include, among other things, the discussions of the Company’s business strategy and expectations concerning its and the Company’s market position and future operations. All such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we are expecting, including, without limitation: our ability to successfully and cost-effectively source film content; the Company’s ability to achieve the desired growth rate of Eros Now; our ability to maintain or raise sufficient capital; delays, cost overruns, cancellation or abandonment of the completion or release of the Company’s films; our ability to predict the popularity of its films, or changing consumer tastes; our ability to maintain existing rights, and to acquire new rights, to film content; our ability to successfully defend any future class action lawsuits we are a party to in the U.S.; anonymous letters to regulators or business associates or anonymous allegations on social media regarding the Company’s business practices, accounting practices and/or officers and directors; our ability to recoup the full amount of box office revenues to which it is entitled due to underreporting of box office receipts by theater operators; our dependence on our relationships with theater operators and other industry participants to exploit the Company’s film content; our ability to mitigate risks relating to distribution and collection in international markets; our ability to compete with other forms of entertainment; our ability to combat piracy and to protect our intellectual property; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting; contingent liabilities that may materialize, our exposure to liabilities on account of unfavorable judgments/decisions in relation to legal proceedings involving the Company or its subsidiaries and certain of its directors and officers; our ability to successfully respond to technological changes; our ability to satisfy debt obligations, fund working capital and pay dividends; the monetary and fiscal policies of countries around the world, inflation, deflation, unanticipated turbulence in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, equity prices or other rates or prices; our ability to address the risks associated with acquisition opportunities; risks that the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic and its spread, and related public health measures, may have material adverse effects on our business, financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows; challenges, disruptions and costs of the Merger and related transactions, integrating the Eros and STX businesses and achieving anticipated synergies, and the risk that such synergies will take longer to realize than expected or may not be realized in whole or in part; the amount of any costs, fees, expenses, impairments and charges related to the Merger and related transactions; completion of the contemplated refinancing transactions; and uncertainty as to the long-term value of the Company’s ordinary shares, and the completion of the Company’s fiscal 2021 audit and filing of its Annual Report on Form 20-F.
The forward-looking statements contained in this communication are based on historical performance and management’s current plans, estimates and expectations in light of information currently available and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those that it has anticipated. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, regional or local political, economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the Company’s assumptions prove to be incorrect, the Company’s actual results may vary in material respects from what the Company may have expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that you should not place undue reliance on any of its forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company in this communication speaks only as of the date on which the Company makes it. Factors or events that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.