Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have partnered to acquire U.S. rights to Craig Johnson’s dramedy “The Skeleton Twins,” while Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has acquired worldwide rights outside the U.S., the companies announced Tuesday.
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are planning a theatrical release for the film in late summer 2014.
Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig star as estranged suicidal siblings whose reunion prompts them to examine their personal lives and romantic relationships.
Also Read: Sundance: ‘Skeleton Twins’ Star Bill Hader Silences Doubters With Breakout Dramatic Role
Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell co-star in the film, which Johnson directed from a script he co-wrote with Mark Heyman.
The film premieres this week in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance and earned strong reviews, particularly for Hader’s breakout dramatic turn.
A Duplass Brothers and Venture Forth Production, “The Skeleton Twins” is produced by Stephanie Langhoff, Jennifer Lee, and Jacob Pechenik, and executive produced by Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, and Jared Ian Goldman. The picture was fully financed by Venture Forth.
“Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig give brilliant, breakout performances as a live wire but also out of control brother and sister who have to reconnect, and we fell in love with Craig Johnson’s amazingly assured film,” said Roadside Attractions co-president Howard Cohen, who TheWrap saw negotiating the deal during a screening of “White Bird in a Blizzard.”
UTA and ICM Partners negotiated the deal with the distribution companies.