$13 Million Family Entertainment Film ‘School of Magical Animals 2’ Acquired by Global Screen – Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)

Munich-based Global Screen has acquired family entertainment film “School of Magical Animals 2” for worldwide distribution. A first teaser will be presented at the Cannes Market for the project, which has a budget of more than $13 million. The first film in the franchise was last year’s highest-grossing German movie. Leonine Studios will release the sequel in Germany this fall.

The film is a warm-hearted, live-action adventure with a cast of CGI-animated animals, set in an unusual school where each of the children receive a magical animal as a companion.

“The School of Magical Animals” is one of the world’s most successful children’s book series: it has been translated into more than 20 languages, and is available in multiple territories, including China, Japan, South Korea, Eastern Europe, the Nordic region, Israel, Turkey, Hungary, The Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.

Directed by Sven Unterwaldt (“The 7th Dwarf,” “Help, I Shrunk My Teacher”), “The School of Magical Animals 2” is a co-production between Kordes & Kordes Film Sued, Leonine Studios and Lightburst Pictures.

The film begins as the students of the school of magical animals want to perform a musical for the school’s anniversary. Will the rehearsals end in chaos or will the class pull together? And what’s up with the strange holes in the school grounds? With the help of their magical animals, the children learn what really matters: teamwork.

Julia Weber, head of international acquisitions and sales, commented: “Which kid doesn’t love the idea of having a talking pet? This warm-hearted cinema adventure for the whole family is based on Margit Auer’s wonderful novels, which have sold more than 8 million copies in German-speaking countries alone.

“The essence of these much-loved books has been beautifully interpreted with impressive visuals into an exceptional family entertainment film with universal themes of friendship and teamwork. We are delighted to have secured the rights for this second iteration of ‘The School of Magical Animals,’ which has a budget of more than $13 million, even higher than the prequel. We firmly believe it will be as successful as its prequel, which was the highest-grossing German film of 2021.”

Producers Meike and Alexandra Kordes added: “It has been such a pleasure to adapt another book from Margit Auer’s special series of novels, which we know will have strong appeal to families around the world. This sequel is as joyful and uplifting as our first film, with even more fascinating and colorful characters to delight and entertain. Every one of the cast members are really engaging and team up so well with the exceptional CGI animation. We are delighted to have placed distribution of ‘The School of Magical Animals 2’ in the very creative and experienced hands of the Global Screen team.”

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