WWE Studios and Blumhouse team up to bring Sleight from Sundance to theaters

January 28th 2016, 3:12pm

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

As usual, a number of really good films are making the rounds at the Sundance Film Festival right now, and, while it'll be a number of months before most of us start to see many of them, now is the time to start paying attention to what is getting real buzz in Park City, Utah. Those are the films we want to keep on our radar to check out as their release plans start coming into focus.

One such film I've been hearing good things about is SLEIGHT, described to me by a colleague as part-NOW YOU SEE ME, part-CHRONICLE and part-GO. The film is centered around a street magician forced to care for his little sister after their mom dies. He turns to drug dealing to make ends meet, but once he gets into trouble and his sister is taken captive, he's going to use every trick up his sleeve in order to square things away and save the day.

It's an interesting concept on paper, and it appears WWE Studios and Blumhouse Productions are teaming up with the idea that it's an interest concept for theaters, too. The partnership has secured all worldwide rights to the film with plans for a theatrical run on the smaller end (around 1,000 screens).

"SLEIGHT is a smart, fresh and ambitious movie that was different from anything else we saw at the festival," said Michael Luisi, WWE Studios President. "We are thrilled to be working again with Jason and the team at Blumhouse, and now John and BH Tilt, to bring JD Dillard's compelling first feature to audiences worldwide."

“We love low budget filmmaking because it allows directors to take creative risks and that is exactly what JD Dillard did with SLEIGHT, a truly original and unique movie,” said Blumhouse Founder and CEO Jason Blum. "We are excited to once again collaborate with Michael and WWE Studios, and to have BH Tilt continue to take advantage of the evolution in digital marketing.”

The last time Blumhouse and WWE Studios teamed up, we got OCULUS, which was a nice little piece of horror. Hopefully, SLEIGHT is also a quality affair, as when WWE Studios heads into the waters of making films that don't require WWE Superstars at the forefront, they have been able to deliver quality. Remember THE CALL?

No release date has yet been announced.