Thor Sigurjonsson leads Scanbox MBO - stretches into film and TV Drama production

Scanbox Entertainment remains focused on its core distribution activities in the Nordics, while expanding into content creation, starting with the Norwegian film Perfect Strangers.

Following the management buyout announcement today, Scanbox Entertainment’s new board consists of CEO Thor Sigurjonsson, COO Kim William Beich, commercial director Torben Thorup Jorgensen and producer Chris Briggs.

Scanbox is one of the Nordic region’s leading and longest-running distribution outfits. Since 2006 the company has been majority owned by Icelandic/Hollywood producer and businessman Joni Sighvatsson, father to Sigurjonsson.

Sighvatsson said in a statement “It's been a challenge, but a pleasure to have been able to chair the company for a decade and a half through transformational times in our industry. It wouldn't have been possible without the amazing team that is now taking the reins. I'm grateful for their support over the years and to all of our suppliers who have supported the company through thick and thin."

Sigurjonsson who has been sitting on Scanbox’s board over the past 15 years, added: “We see significant growth potential in the content creation side of the business, and with this MBO, we have taken the first step towards that goal.”

Speaking to nordicfilmandtvnews.com, Sigurjonsson said the expansion into content creation is a natural step for the distribution group, considering its recent majority stake in the Icelandic company Zik Zak Filmworks, and various on-going collaborations with producers in the Nordics, including fast-rising Motor in Denmark, with whom Scanbox closed an exclusive distribution deal in August, (see story here). “It’s also about controlling our destiny on some projects, at a time when Hollywood is unpredictable. You want to create your own product and to fire on all cylinders,” he noted.

On the feature film side, the first title announced today is Arild Andresen’s Full Dekning, Norwegian remake of the Italian block buster Perfect Strangers, co-produced with Storm Films. The comedy starring Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Thorbjørn Harr and Sara Khorami is due to open in Norway February 25. Scanbox has lined up an Icelandic version with Zik Zak Filmworks set to premiere in the fall 2022. Danish, Finnish, and Swedish versions will follow.

On the TV side, Sigurjonsson said he has several projects in development, including Balls, to be directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (Under the Tree, Northern Comfort) based on his own screenplay, co-written with Halldór Laxness Halldórsson.

"We´re looking at a possible international output deal and have been acquiring a few book rights, so there's a lot going on,” Sigurjonsson said.

Regarding its core distribution activities, Sigurjonsson said his group will continue to release in the Nordics around 50 films a year, a mix of international commercial and auteur-driven titles, and local films from the five Nordic territories.

Discussing the challenging times with Covid-19 and pressure from the streamers, Scanbox’s CEO said: “We’ve been fairly lucky in Denmark with Anders Refn’s Into the Darkness in 2020 which sold 370,000 cinema tickets, then with Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen which premiered when Covid came, but we didn’t panic and at the end, we did pretty well, as it was among the few mainstream films on release. Then with our streaming and TV partners, we’ve collaborated differently on other releases. Most recently we’ve released Spencer in Denmark, just before lockdown but it’s back on screens."

Scanbox’s 2022 international slate includes Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers, Mike Mills’ black-and-white drama C’mon C’mon starring Joaquin Phoenix, and US slasher X by Ti West.

Nordic titles under Scanbox's banner include Denmark’s As in Heaven, (released February 10) which just won Best Nordic Film in Göteborg, Anders Refn’s Into the Darkness 2 slated for an April domestic release, and Iceland’s Beautiful Beings by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, screening at the Berlinale’s Panorama programme.

TRAILER: AS IN HEAVEN