Relativity Buys Overture, Releasing 'Let Me In'

A rather interesting development late in the week is hitched to another rather interesting development. Dread Central reports that Let Me In -- from what we've seen it hews a little too close to the original, Let the Right One In -- wouldn't get released by Overture this fall. Apparently, the studio was trying to find other distributors interested in making a go of it here, because the expected P & A costs are too much to bear. That would not be much of a story, frankly, because even the big studios combine forces from time to time. Overture has already sent out some marketing swag for the film (look at the bloody funnel in an evidence bag we received last week), so it's clearly not a case of not wanting to commit to the film, but probably a simple realization that with its more limited resources, Overture is better off cutting a deal and picking up a percentage of the grosses. But the interesting part is the announcement yesterday that Relativity Media has agreed to buy Overture. Variety says Relativity will release Let Me In, along with Overture's other completed works, Jack Goes Boating with Phil Hoffman and Stone with Robert DeNiro, but there's no word if that outside distribution is still in the cards. My guess is that this superseded all that and Relativity will push Let Me In very aggressively, having acquired some of Overture's staff in the process of all this. Relativity is a production company that, while not in the Let Me In business until now, has this year alone had its hand in Robin Hood, Dear John, Get Him to he Greek, Grown Ups, Salt, The Bounty Hunter, The Wolfman, Repo Men, and MacGruber, not all hits, I grant you, plus the upcoming Charlie St. Cloud, The Fighter, Nanny McPhee Returns, Little Fockers and The Social Network. The point is, they've got bank. Now, it's premature to imagine a scenario in which Relativity would be releasing a slate of films this recognizable, although the plan is to put out 25 by 2012. If the wording's careful and Variety doesn't mean 25 in 2012, then that's not quite a top five studio, but eight to twelve a year is still pretty ambitious. Also of note is Relativity's recent purchase of Rogue Pictures, formerly the niche brand for horror released through Universal. Since that's a non-exclusive deal, Relativity could start releasing those, as well. Let Me In is still slated for an October 1st release and if Relativity is trying to make a splash, that would probably be the best place to start.