Warner Bros. Sets Release Date for Star-Studded 'Cloud Atlas'

Warner Bros. Pictures has set Oct. 26 as the release date for Cloud Atlas, the star-studded adaptation of David Mitchell’s novel directed by the team of Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski.

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The studio’s distribution chiefs -- Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of international distribution -- also said Tuesday that the studio has acquired rights to distribute the film the U.K., France, Spain, Australia, and Japan, where it will be released in early 2013. 

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The movie, which stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Keith David, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy and Zhou Xun, got a positive reception when it was shown to foreign buyers at the recent Cannes Film Festival, and its late-October date will put it squarely in the awards-season corridor.

“Audiences who have seen an early screening of Cloud Atlas have been elated by its powerful and inspiring story, as well as its breathtaking visuals,” Fellman said. "An October release in North America is the perfect window to showcase this epic film."

Adds Kwan Vandenberg: “We are proud to be distributing this remarkable motion picture in a number of key markets. We look forward to working with these visionary filmmakers and the other international distribution partners to bring Cloud Atlas to moviegoers around the world."

Tykwer and the Wachowskis also wrote the screenplay for the film and produced along with Grant Hill and Stefan Arndt. Philip Lee, Uwe Schott and Wilson Qiu served as executive producers.

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Atlas will be released in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland by X-Filme-Verleih; in China by Dreams of the Dragon Pictures; in Hong Kong by Media Asia Group; in Singapore and Malaysia by Ascension Pictures; in Korea by Bloomage Co.; in Taiwan by Long Shong Group; in Russia and Eastern Europe by A Company; and in other territories through Focus Features International.