"Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey" sequel promises substantially larger budget

[BluBonnet]

Cannes: ‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey’ Slasher Sequel Cuts Deals Around the World

The sequel to one of the most talked about indie films of the past 12 months has scored a number of international sales deals.

Microbudget creature slasher Winnie-the-Pooh: Bood and Honey became a viral hit for its IP-bludgeoning take on A. A. Milne’s beloved children’s story, helping it amass more than $6 million globally when it was released earlier this year off a budget of under $100,000. Buoyed by the success, Premiere Entertainment — which sold out all territories with theatrical components on the original — has now gotten off to a fast start on the follow-up, with many distributors coming back for a second swing of the bloody axe.

The Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey sequel has been sold to Mexico and Latin America (Cinemex), Germany and Italy (Plaion), France (Crome Films), Benelux (Movie Company), Scandinavia (Njuta Films), Russia/CIS (Voxell Films), Australia and New Zealand (Umbrella), Middle East (Phoenicia), Turkey (BG Film), Taiwan (AV-Jet), India and airlines (PictureWorks).

The slasher franchise film centers on Winnie and his sidekick Piglet. Having turned feral after being abandoned in the wild by their friend Christopher Robin, the two go on a murderous rampage through Hundred Acre Wood.

Principal photography on the sequel is scheduled for fall, with the plot being kept under wraps. The production is expected to include a substantially larger budget than its predecessor film.

Rhys Frake-Waterfield returns as writer and director. Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey are producing for Jagged Edge Productions while Stuart Alson and Nicole Holland serve as executive producers for ITN Studios.

ITN will handle distribution in North America.