Target moves into Film releasing

Target Entertainment, which is building itself into one of the biggest television distributors in the UK, is moving into theatrical distribution, giving a cinema release to Ruby Blue, starring Bob Hoskins and Josephine Belasko.

It is also thinking about giving theatrical releases to other British films which have not found a theatrical release so far prior to taking them out on home video.

The cinema release of the Medb Films’ Ruby Blue, about a widower accused of being a paedophile after an eight-year-old girl goes missing, will give the feature a push before it is released on DVD.

Target Entertainment director of international DVD and theatrical Chris Rayson says that video buyers still want to know how a title performed in the cinema before taking it on for DVD. The company is also moving into film sales, selling features around the world at markets such as Cannes, Berlin and the American Film Market. Rayson says: "Being an all-rights management business, film is something we’ve always been interested in."

Last month Target bought film production company Pink Sands, founded by former William Morris agent Charles Finch and Kate McCreery. McReery says that the deal made sense from Pink Sands’ point of view because being part of a bigger television business will help smooth out the peaks and troughs of film production.

Tim Adler