Discovery, Lionsgate buy Million Dollar Duck doc

Discovery and Lionsgate Entertainment have jointly acquired feature doc Million Dollar Duck.

The deal will see Discovery take North American and UK TV rights to the film, and airing it on its Animal Planet channel.

Independent studio Lionsgate will have theatrical distribution rights in the same territories.

Million Dollar Duck debuted at the Slamdance Film Festival last week, and will go out on Animal Planet after its cinema run.

The feature follows drawing and painting contest the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, dubbed the ‘Olympics of wildlife art’.

“From the moment I saw Million Dollar Duck, I knew Animal Planet would be the perfect home for this heartfelt and humorous film,” said Rich Ross, group president of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Science Channel.

“Showcasing this film brings to light this special programme that supports wetlands conservation and aligns with our network’s goal to activate people on animal welfare concerns.”

Lionsgate has previously partnered with Discovery to sell its content in the home entertainment window in the US. “We’re proud to extend our strategic partnership with Discovery on this terrific film,” said Lionsgate president of worldwide television and digital distribution Jim Packer.

“Poignant, quirky, hilarious and tremendously engaging, Million Dollar Duck is the perfect property to kick off our alliance with Discovery on documentary films and other long-form content.”

The film was directed by Brian Golden Davis. “I made this film because I wanted to explore the quirky world of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, where the artists were motivated by their sheer love of nature and conservation, and I can’t think of better platforms to help share our ‘duck tale’ with the world than Animal Planet and Lionsgate,” he said.