Lionsgate is set as the distributor for the action-comedy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, helmed for Miramax by Guy Ritchie. The film starring Jason Statham (F9), Hugh Grant (Glass Onion), Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus), Josh Hartnett (Lucky Number Slevin), Cary Elwes (Rebel Moon) and Bugzy Malone (The Gentlemen) will be released in the U.S. on March 3.
Pic will contend in its opening weekend at the box office with MGM/UAR’s Creed III, directed by and starring Michael B. Jordan, as well as the horror-thriller Hunt Her, Kill Her from Welcome Villain Films. Its story centers on super spy Orson Fortune (Statham), who must track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology wielded by billionaire arms broker Greg Simmonds (Grant). Reluctantly teamed with some of the world’s best operatives (Plaza, Elwes, Malone), Fortune and his crew recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star Danny Francesco (Hartnett) to help them on their globe-trotting undercover mission to save the world.
Operation Fortune marks Ritchie’s third film for Miramax, on the heels of The Gentlemen and Wrath of Man and joins the director’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare on Lionsgate’s upcoming slate. The studio picked up domestic rights to that WWII pic with Henry Cavill earlier this morning, just ahead of EFM, as we told you first.
Ritchie directed Operation Fortune from his script written with Ivan Atkinson & Marn Davies (The Gentlemen, Wrath of Man), also producing alongside Ivan Atkinson and Bill Block. Miramax and STX Entertainment served as co-financiers.
Upcoming films from Miramax include Robert Zemeckis’ Here starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright; David Ayer’s actioner The Beekeeper starring Statham; and Alexander Payne’s Paul Giamatti reteam The Holdover, which sold to Focus in a record-breaking deal out of last year’s Toronto Film Festival, as we were first to report. Also coming up is a series adaptation of Ritchie’s action-comedy The Gentlemen with Netflix.
Lionsgate has recently released titles including the Gerard Butler actioner Plane and the Jennifer Lopez starrer Shotgun Wedding. Those up next for release by the studio include Jesus Revolution (February 24), John Wick: Chapter 4 (March 24), Ray Romano’s directorial debut Somewhere in Queens (April 21) and the Judy Blume adaptation Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (April 28). Also coming up from Lionsgate is the comedy Joy Ride marking the feature directorial debut of Crazy Rich Asians scribe Adele Lim, which before hitting theaters on June 23, will world premiere at SXSW, as we told you first.
The post ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre’: Lionsgate Sets Spring Release For Guy Ritchie Action-Comedy appeared first on Deadline.
