International sales agent, Epic Pictures, handled the sale to Showtime. Epic has sold Avarice extensively worldwide including key territories Germany, China, UK, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East.
Epic Pictures Patrick Ewald stated “We at Epic Pictures are incredibly excited that Showtime has acquired the US broadcast rights for Avarice. We are proud of what we have accomplished with the sales and distribution of Avarice, and we are looking forward to the film’s US Pay TV Premiere on Showtime.”
Avarice is about a champion archer (played by Gillian Alexy) and her husband, Ash (Luke Ford) who go on vacation with their daughter to a remote holiday home. One night they are subjected to a terrifying home invasion by a team of mercenaries headed by Reed (Alexandra Nell) and Kane (Ryan Panizza). Kate must fight back using her specialist archery skills to defeat their captors and save her family.
Avarice was shot and produced in Western Australia with the support of Screenwest. The film was directed by John V. Soto and produced by Tim Maddocks and John V. Soto. The film has been well received by critics and audiences alike, with noted Filmink critic Erin Free stating that Avarice is “smartly put together and entertaining, Avarice is a rock-solid thriller”. Respected film critic Stephen Romei from The Australian newspaper, called Avarice “a fast paced thriller that has enough surprises to keep audiences on the edge of their seat.”
Tim Maddocks of Maddfilms commented “From the first read of an early draft of the script I knew that John and the writing team were putting together something that would appeal to audiences, and early support from Epic Pictures, then ScreenWest and now Showtime adding it to their impressive library proves that we were on to something. It was great to spend time in Perth and the surrounds when we produced the film.”
Showtime has an enviable slate of quality films and TV shows including Yellowjackets, Billions, Homeland and Dexter. Showtime is owned by Paramount Global with over 77 Million subscribers worldwide.
Avarice won Best Thriller at the Montreal Independent Film Festival in 2022 and was acquired for Australian distribution by Backlot Films who will be releasing the film on various platforms mid 2023. The film stars Gillian Alexy (Outsiders, The Americans), Luke Ford (Animal Kingdom, Mummy 3), Alex Fleri (Sons of Summer), Tom O’Sullivan (Preacher, The Furies) and upcoming actors Ryan Panizza (Alpha Gateway, Sissy) and Alexandra Nell (Rattlesnake).
