Although the studio launched just last year, FilmDistrict is already making major noise in Hollywood.
Its first movie, “Insidious,” which was made for $1.5 million, has raked in nearly $92 million worldwide.
Now the independent acquisition and distribution company is hoping for similar success with another horror movie, the Katie Holmes-starring “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” released on Friday.
Due in large part to the strong relationship between “Don’t Be Afraid’s” writer/producer Guillermo del Toro and FilmDistrict’s distribution head Bob Berney, FilmDistrict acquired the Miramax-produced movie after the former Disney subsidiary was sold.
The two had worked together on previous films, and del Toro says Berney was the first person he encouraged to go after the movie rights.
The former Apparition chief also told us at the movie’s New York premiere that del Toro’s involvement made him pursue the film.
Indeed, Berney argues that he and the other Hollywood veterans who run FilmDistrict -- Oscar-winning producer Graham King and longtime former Sony Pictures exec Peter Schlessel -- all have a filmmaker-friendly approach.
This attitude could help FilmDistrict as it moves more into pre-buying, or purchasing movies based on scripts, as it did with the highly anticipated “Drive,” starring Ryan Gosling.
The company has also acquired other high-profile titles, and plans to release movies King produces like Johnny Depp’s upcoming “The Rum Diary.”
It’s already taken advantage of the new distribution model, striking a streaming deal with Netflix for what would be FilmDistrict’s pay-TV window.
Berney called Netflix “critical to [FilmDistrict’s] business,” adding that “it enables us as an independent to access that revenue that only the big studios used to have through HBO or Starz.
“It gives us a real advantage and a way to really risk theatrical releases, which are so expensive,” he says.
For his part, del Toro has no qualms about his movie being a part of this deal, remarking simply, “In Bob we trust.”
hlewis@nypost.com
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