Korean cheerleading film Victory will be released in US cinemas. Ahead of its upcoming release in Korea, the film has been pre-sold to 815 Pictures for North American theatrical release by Seoul-based distributor Finecut.
The film is described as “an uplifting and heartwarming drama centered around a high school dance duo” and follows the cheerleaders who inspire their losing school’s football team and the surrounding village on a remote Korean island. The film is directed by Park Bum-soo, known for Single in Seoul and Red Carpet. The film recently premiered as the opening act at the New York Asian Film Festival, where one of the stars, Lee Hyeri, won the Screen International Rising Star Asia award at the event.
Finecut has also signed deals for the film across Asia, including with Sky Films Entertainment in Taiwan, Lumix Media in Vietnam, PT Prima Cinema Multimedia in Indonesia, House of M in Thailand, Emphasis Video Entertainment for in-flight distribution, and Westec Media Limited in Cambodia.
Victory will be released theatrically in North America on August 16th, shortly after its release in South Korea on August 14th. Other release dates in Asia will span August and September, according to Finecut.
The rest of the cast includes: Park Se-wan (Life is Beautiful) as the other member of the dance duo; Cho A-ram (TV series Thank You) as a former member of Seoul’s cheerleading squad who moves to the village; and Lee Jung-ha (Disney+ hit Moving) in the role of the goalkeeper for the school’s soccer team that always loses.
Victory is produced by South Korea’s Annapurna Films, led by producer Lee Anna, who has worked on hits such as Sunny and Scandal Makers, and is provided by Mindmark, a content IP company owned by Shinsegae Group. Mindmark has been involved as an investor and Korean distributor for local titles such as Brave Citizen, Love Reset, and Honey Sweet. Its recent list also includes director Heo Jin-ho’s A Normal Family and Boss.