STXfilms, a division of STX Entertainment, has taken worldwide rights to Brad Peyton’s epic action thriller Black Hole, it was jointly announced today by Adam Fogelson, Chairman of STXfilms, Peyton and producer Bill Block. STXinternational will introduce Black Hole to distributors in Berlin this week. The company announced earlier this week that it was also introducing Baltasar Kormakur’s unforgettable true film about survival at sea Adrift at the EFM.
Peyton, the filmmaker who brought audiences the $474 million international smash hit San Andreas, will direct the action thriller from a script he wrote with Philip Gawthorne. Peyton will produce through his ASAP Entertainment banner, along with producing partner Jeff Fierson. Bill Block (Bad Moms, Fury, District 9) will produce and co-finance through his Billblock Media company. Production is expected to begin in early 2018. STXfilms is co-financing the production within the company’s fiscal parameters and business model.
In the film, a black hole enters our solar system setting off natural disasters on an unprecedented scale. As cities are assaulted by gigantic meteorites, continents devastated by super-volcanos and the Earth’s shifting axis triggers a cataclysmic second Ice Age, a team of scientists, soldiers and astronauts must work together to save the planet from imminent global annihilation.
“We believe Brad Peyton’s vision for Black Hole is tremendously exciting and will be the kind of event programming that we are excited to have on our slate,” said Adam Fogelson. “The film is already attracting the interest of A-list stars and we are very eager to work with Brad and his team on this project.”
Added Bill Block, who was the producer who brought worldwide sensation Bad Moms to STX, “Having seen how this team innovates and collaborates when it comes to production, marketing and distribution, STXfilms is the perfect home for Black Hole. We know we have a deeply committed and skilled team that will pull out all the stops to make this film a huge hit all over the world.”
“Jeff and I are incredibly enthusiastic to get to work with Adam, Oren and the gang at STX, and are especially excited to be reunited with Sam Brown, with whom I worked very closely on both Journey 2 and San Andreas while he was at New Line,” said Peyton. “Additionally Bill has been an incredible partner in allowing us to develop what I hope will be a wholly original franchise-starter that is just the beginning of a much bigger story.”
David Kosse, President of STXinternational explained, “We have an amazing network of distribution partners all over the globe who are thrilled to be a part of what we are building at STXinternational. As we continue to build out our slate, Black Hole is the kind of big commercial tentpole that gets buyers and audiences excited all over the world. We are also extremely excited to distribute the film in the United Kingdom.”
Peyton is in pre-production on New Line’s Rampage, starring Dwayne Johnson, based on the popular video game franchise. He is also developing Journey 3 for New Line, the third in the successful family film franchise that has amassed $576 million at the worldwide box office, and a sequel to San Andreas, which was the most popular original content film of 2015. On the television side, Peyton and Fierson just launched the Netflix action series Frontier, starring Jason Momoa, and are developing for Syfy, the action/adventure series The Woods, based on the popular same-name graphic novel series from BOOM! Studios.
