Artists Equity, the independent studio founded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Gerry Cardinale, has signed an overall theatrical feature film agreement with Sony Pictures. Under the three-year agreement, Sony will distribute the theatrical films globally, which will be developed and produced by Artists Equity. Sony will finance the films and handle all ancillaries, with Artists Equity having the option to co-finance individual projects.
“Artists Equity, in the short span of its existence, has proven remarkably adept at developing and producing high quality commercial films,” said Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group chairman and CEO Tom Rothman. “This is not a surprise to me as I have known the two creative ‘Pros from Dover’ for many years and always admired their smarts, talent and moxie. Now that Ben and Matt and their team have set their sights firmly on the high bar of the theatrical market, Sony is lucky as hell to be partnering with them. We look forward to making a bunch of hit films together.”
Artists Equity CEO Affleck added, “It’s an enormously meaningful landmark for Artists Equity to be making films for theatrical release with Sony Pictures and in particular with Tom Rothman, with whom Matt and I go back more than twenty years. Tom has both a deep and abiding love for movies and an understanding of and appreciation for how they are made. I can’t think of a better partner than Sony, which is fully in on the theatrical experience, as Artists Equity seeks to make films expressly meant to be seen in the cinema, with an audience. It’s an honor to make films for the magical dark room where we come together with strangers to project our innermost secrets onto a screen, surrendering to a story together, agreeing to share the same flickering dream. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring movies to a global audience, with the entire expert Sony team.”
Upcoming Artists Equity releases include Joe Carnahan’s “RIP,” an action film starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Teyana Taylor and Scott Adkins; Affleck’s “Animals,” a thriller starring Affleck, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun and Kerry Washington; and Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” adapted from the seven-Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and starring Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna.
Artists Equity was launched in 2022, with Cardinale’s RedBird said to have committed at least $100 million to funding the venture. Past releases from the company include Affleck’s “Air,” starring Damon, Affleck, Jason Bateman and Viola Davis; Doug Liman’s “The Instigators,” starring Damon and Casey Affleck; Gavin O’Connor’s “The Accountant 2” starring Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson; William Goldenberg’s “Unstoppable” starring Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Peña and Don Cheadle; and Tim Mielants’ “Small Things Like These” starring Cillian Murphy.