Sundance 2012: Richard Gere's 'Arbitrage' Sells to Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions for $2 Million-Plus

9:17 AM PST 1/25/2012 by Daniel Miller, Jay Fernandez

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The companies paired on a similar day-and-date release for the 2011 fest premiere "Margin Call."

Myles Aronowitz

Financial thriller Arbitrage, the directorial debut from Nicholas Jarecki, has sold to Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Sources put the sale price at just north of $2 million for U.S. rights.

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Sundance 2012: The Day-And-Date Success Story of 'Margin Call'

The film, which stars Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Nate Parker and Laetitia Casta, attracted strong interest from buyers after it unfurled on Saturday night at the Eccles Theatre.

Executives from interested parties Universal, Relativity and The Weinstein Co. were shown the film in screenings held in Los Angeles, but ultimately Lionsgate and Roadside paired to give the film a day-and-date theatrical and VOD release. The two companies employed the same strategy with notable success on the 2011 Sundance thriller Margin Call, which also takes place in the world of finance.

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Arbitrage, which was penned by Jarecki, delves into issues of love and loyalty and centers on billionaire hedge fund magnate Robert Miller (played by Gere), who tries to sell his business before his fraud is uncovered.

Graham Taylor of WME Global handled the sale for the filmmakers. Parlay Films is handling foreign rights.

Other recent sales include Red Lights to Millennium Entertainment (U.S. rights, just under $4 million); Celeste and Jesse Forever to Sony Pictures Classics (North American, Latin American, Eastern European rights, around $2 million); For a Good Time, Call… to Focus Features (worldwide rights, $2 million); and Beasts of the Southern Wild to Fox Searchlight, which also grabbed worldwide rights to The Surrogate for just under $6 million Monday.

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Sunday, LD Distribution picked up the thriller Black Rock for just over $1 million, and CBS Films acquired the drama The Words for a combined deal valued at $3.5 million. Competition documentaries Searching For Sugar Man and The Queen of Versailles found homes at SPC and Magnolia Pictures, respectively, on Friday.

Email: Daniel.Miller@THR.com; Jay.Fernandez@THR.com

Twitter: @DanielNMiller; @Writer730