Sky Adds ‘Serenity’ and Zac Efron’s Ted Bundy Film to Its Day-and-Date Lineup

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – European pay-TV giant Sky has acquired three new titles to bolster its slate of original films set for release on its service in the U.K. on the same day as the movies’ theatrical debuts.

Cinema Original Films has day-and-date rights to -led noir thriller “Serenity”; “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” which will star Zac Efron as serial killer Ted Bundy; and multi-generational family drama “Life Itself” from Dan Fogelman (“This Is Us”).

Oscar Isaac, Olivia Cooke and Antonio Banderas star in “Life Itself.” Lily Collins, John Malkovich and Jim Parsons are attached to “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.” The “Serenity” cast includes Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane and Jason Clarke.

The new titles join a slate that includes “The Hurricane Heist,” “Anon” and Dave Bautista- and Pierce Brosnan-starrer “Final Score.” That last film is up next with a Sept. 7 release in theaters and on Sky.

“Monster Family” was Sky’s first day-and-date release. Altitude handles theatrical distribution of the films.

Sky Cinema Group Director Ian Lewis said the new titles take the slate of originals to a new level. “They’re all really fantastic propositions with some big names attached and will get people down to the cinema or watching on Sky Cinema,” he said.