Judge Dredd Fines Upcoming Moviegoers for $30 Million

The new Judge Dredd film is off to an auspicious start: "Star Trek's" Karl Urban in the title role, a script by "28 Days Later" and "Sunshine" writer Alex Garland, co-creator John Wagner on board, and $30 million in the bank. IM Global, the sales company that represents "Dredd", has sold the film in foreign markets including Germany, Spain, Australia, Canada, Russia, Benelux, Latin America and Scandinavia, to the tune of $30 million in all... without shooting anything yet.This comes as a surprise considering the previous Dredd film -- 1995's "Judge Dredd," starring Sylvester Stallone and Rob Schneider -- was very poorly reviewed and is remembered as something of a flop (although it earned over $113 million worldwide). But ICv2 notes that "Dredd" is not only to be truer to its satirically ultra-violent source material, but is also being shot in the enduringly popular 3-D format. Additionally, much of the film's crew come from the sci-fi success "District 9", which made a small budget go a very long way.

Variety reports that IM Global's success in selling "Dredd" is indicative of a sea change at the Toronto International Film Festival, where such deals are taking place with increasing frequency. Working out of a suite at the Hyatt Regency, IM Global's Stuart Ford secured commitments to "Dredd" from 90% of the world in just five days.

Directed by Peter Travis, "Dredd's" release date has yet to be announced. "Judge Dredd: Mega-City Masters 02", a new compilation of classic Judge Dredd tales by John Wagner, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Sean Phillips, Glenn Fabry, Dave Taylor and more, goes on sale October 12 from Rebellion.

[Via ICv2]