Iceland’s Sagafilm expands globally with Skybound Entertainment - 5th Planet Games deal

Beta Nordic Studios which acquired 25% of Sagafilm in 2000, will remain minority shareholder in the new set up.

Concurrently Sagafilm’s co-owners Kjartan Thor Thordarson, Ragnar Björn Agnarsson and the newly appointed CEO Tjorvi Thorsson will become partners in The Walking Dead home Skybound Entertainment and gaming experts 5PG, which will give them leverage in shaping the future of the partnership.

As explained by the three companies, the Sagafilm acquisition is a win-win collaboration.

For the major entertainment group Skybound, which uses its ‘wheel of awesome’ model to build global franchises on multi-platforms (including comics, games, film, series, podcasts, live events) with creators at the core, the Icelandic pact is a strategic expansion into the Nordics and a ramping up of its original content.

Skybound’s Rick Jacobs, Managing Partner of Linear Entertainment said: “This acquisition signifies a substantial foray into the European TV market for Skybound, by leveraging Sagafilm's exceptional track record for producing premium content and strong presence in the Nordic region. This collaboration opens up new avenues for the development and production of even more original content, establishing a firm foothold for Skybound in Europe.”

Mark Stanger, CEO at 5PG sees the deal as a natural expansion. "We are excited that this acquisition will bring significant diversification to our shareholders beyond games, as we embrace Skybound's innovative ‘Wheel of Awesome’ model and expand into film and TV in the Nordics,” he said.

Meanwhile Kjartan Thor Thordarson, Sagafilm co-owner and CEO of Sagafilm Nordic, says the Icelandic company which widened its core business in Europe a decade ago is just going further with its global expansion. And by accessing Skybound’s 150+ IP, Sagafilm will be able to develop high-end English-language content, next to local and European productions, and to tap into new IP-led business opportunities.

“We are in a state of flux, where it’s becoming very hard to finance projects. You simply have to find new business models,” Thordarson told us.

Asked if the deal would mean for Sagafilm to work on bigger budgets, he said “not necessarily”. “Skybound knows we can deliver high quality content produced in a cost-effective way out of the Nordics and Europe. This is our know-how and we will continue to work in the same way, prioritising local content for the domestic market, with international potential,” he explained.

The senior Icelandic film & TV executive said the partners have already joint projects in development, and a Scandinavian series in which Skybound and 5PG are co-financiers.

Sagafilm’s slate includes season 2 of the hit Icelandic political drama The Minister starring Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Aníta Briem. “We have started production and the main shooting period will be this summer,” said Thordarson who serves as executive producer for the TV show commissioned by RÚV, in association with DR, NRK, SVT and Yle.

On the feature film side, Thordarson is pleased with the commercial success of Oskar Thor Axelsson’s thriller Operation Napoleon, which is nearing 30,000 admissions in Iceland and has attracted major international buyers such as Magnolia for North America, Signature Entertainment for the UK/Ireland, Mediawan for France and Tohokushinsha for Japan, via sales agent Beta Cinema.