Studiocanal Pulls ‘Bastille Day’ Ads, Screenings Following Holiday Attack in Nice

After Studiocanal pulled advertising for Idris Elba’s Bastille Day (which opened in France on Wednesday) following the terror attack in Nice that killed at least 84 and left dozens injured, they requested on Saturday that the film also be pulled from theaters, a rep for the studio told The Hollywood Reporter.

StudioCanal spokesman Antoine Banet-Rivet told the Associated Press that “the film has been withdrawn from cinemas out of respect for the victims and their families.” He said the film had been playing at 230 movie theaters across France.

Posters had been covering Paris metros, with the tagline “This year, they are the fireworks.” Initially, the studio opted to only pull advertisements for the new release.

The action film from Woman in Black director James Madden sees Elba as a CIA agent who teams up with Richard Madden’s pickpocket to stop an attack in Paris on the July 14 Bastille Day holiday.

While the film had always been scheduled for a July release in France to coincide with the holiday, it had been pushed back from its original February release date in the U.K. and March in Germany following the November terror attacks in Paris.

Those dates were pushed to April 22 and June 23, respectively, and in between the film rolled out across Europe, Australia and parts of Asia. It has taken in $7.3 million in 23 territories to date.

Focus Features acquired North American distribution rights to the film in 2014, and a day-and-date VOD release is planned for the movie through the distributor’s FocusWorld VOD label. No release date has been scheduled for its U.S. release.

July 16, 11:13 a.m.: Updated with film screening cancelation confirmation.

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