Open Road Films [5] has acquired U.S. rights to “The Grey [6]” from Liddell Entertainment, the companies announced on Tuesday.

The thriller reunites director Joe Carnahan [7] with his “A-Team [8]” star Liam Neeson [9].

The movie centers on a group of oil-rig workers who are left stranded in the Artic  after their plane crashes. Making matters worse, the team is hunted by a vicious pack of wolves.  

Neeson plays the leader of the team. Dermot Mulroney (“About Schmidt [10]”) and Dallas Roberts (“The Good Wife”) co-star.

Jules Daly, Joe Carnahan, Ridley Scott and Mickey Liddell produced "The Grey." 

Carnahan has attracted praise for the flashy and violent touch he applied to movies such as “Smokin’ Aces [11]” and “Narc [12],” but “A-Team [8]” was considered a box office disappointment. The director’s most mainstream project grossed $177 million worldwide, but cost $110 million to produce. 

Open Road, a co-venture between theater chains AMC and Regal, launched last spring with the stated goal of distributing between eight to ten films a year. Among the films it has picked up rights to [13] are an adaptation of “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer’s “The Host [14]” and the Robert De Niro action film “Killer Elite [15].”

The deal for “The Grey” was negotiated on behalf of Open Road Films by Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Operations and Business Affairs Elliott Kleinberg, and Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Ben Cotner.  CAA, which packaged and arranged financing for the project, negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers.