Focus Features Takes Global on 'Outside Man' — SkimNews
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- Focus Features acquired worldwide rights to Brian Helgeland's "Outside Man," starring Ice Cube and Tommy Lee Jones, with cameras rolling in November.
- Brian Helgeland wrote and directs the film, reteaming with Jones after "Finestkind"; the story follows ex-Chicago mob enforcer Ruben Bowman (Ice Cube), who after prison tries to change his life in rural Texas working under retired Texas Ranger and furniture craftsman Gus Wanamaker (Jones).
- The film is a Teton Ridge Entertainment production, produced by Jillian Share and Jen Gorton, Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz of Cube Vision, and Bill Gerber, with Helgeland among the executive producers.
- Focus Features notched its highest-grossing movie ever this year with Curry Barker's "Obsession," which grossed over $500 million globally.
- Focus Features' upcoming slate includes Robert Eggers' "Werwulf" on Christmas Day, "Elsinore" starring Andrew Scott, Georgia Oakley's "Sense and Sensibility," Sarah Polley's "The Bell Jar" starring Billie Eilish, and Barker's "Anything But Ghosts" in early May 2027.
- CubeVision (Ice Cube's company) has produced the Oscar-nominated "Straight Outta Compton" ($201.6M worldwide) and franchises including "Friday," "Barbershop," and "Ride Along," with its films grossing over $1 billion total at the box office.
Why it matters: For Focus Features, "Outside Man" adds a star-driven crime drama to a label that just delivered its highest-grossing film ever in "Obsession" ($500M+ global). Pairing an Oscar-winning writer-director with two box-office-tested stars — including Ice Cube, whose CubeVision library has grossed over $1 billion — gives Focus a commercially bankable tentpole as it builds out its 2026-2027 calendar.
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