EXCLUSIVE: Briarcliff Entertainment has set a June 20 theatrical release for its Dennis Quaid-Nick Offerman-Jacob Tremblay true-crime thriller Sovereign.
Based on real events, the pic follows a father and son (Offerman and Tremblay) who identify as Sovereign Citizens, a group of anti-government extremists, as they venture across the country and find themselves in a standoff with a chief of police (Quaid) that sets off an intense manhunt with tragic consequences.
Nick Offerman in ‘Sovereign’
Briarcliff
Deadline first told you about Briarcliff’s pickup of the film written and directed by Christian Swegal in May 2023.
Sovereign will share the same weekend with such wide entries as Disney/Pixar’s Elio, Sony’s zombie sequel 28 Years Later and Magneta Light Studios’ Simon West-directed Bride Hard starring Rebel Wilson and Anna Camp.
Sovereign was produced by Nick Moceri under his All Night Diner banner, whose credits include Sitting In Bars With Cake at Amazon Studios, Deidra & Laney Rob a Train (Sundance 2017) and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Sundance 2014).
EPs of Sovereign are Matthew Shreder, Grant Mohrman, Ortenberg, Jessica Rose, Russell Geyser and Clay Pecorin. Concourse co-financed the movie and repped global rights.
Briarcliff’s Honest Thief grossed more than $14 million at the domestic box office in 2020 at a time when many cities’ multiplexes were closed during the pandemic; a remarkable feat. The Tom Ortenberg-owned distributor saved the Cannes premiere The Apprentice last year about a young Donald Trump and gave it a theatrical release. The movie landed two Oscar nominations including lead actor for Sebastian Stan as Trump and supporting actor for Jeremy Strong, who played the New York City real estate baron’s mentor Roy Cohn.