UK Box Office Hit ‘Fisherman’s Friends’ To Get Australia

EXCLUSIVE: From Cornwall to the Croisette. the UK band Fisherman's Friends, subject of the recent UK box office hit of the same name, was in Cannes today, where stops included the Deadline party. Next stop: Australia.

While at our annual Riviera bash, producers behind the breakout movie, which recently took close to $10M in the UK alone, revealed to us that a sequel is in the works. The comedy music pic will be called Fisherman's Friends 2: Bound for South Australia and will follow the group from the highs of performing on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury to the lows of struggling with their second album. During a divisive tour of South Australia, they will trace their ancestors who were transported in the 1800s and embrace a new community and discover their musical DNA.

The sequel will again be produced by James Spring, Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft, the team behind Finding Your Feet, another UK box office breakout.

The Fred Films and Powder Keg Pictures original, released in March in UK by Entertainment Film Distributors, tells the true story of a group of fishermen who form a successful, all-male acapella folk group. The band of friends went from singing in the harbor of their home fishing village on the south coast of the UK to a deal with Island Records, a platinum album and performing at music mecca Glastonbury.

Starring alongside the group in the Chris Foggin-directed film were Tuppence Middleton, James Purefoy, Daniel Mays, Noel Clarke, David Hayman and Dave Johns.

Today, the band brought their authentic sea shanties to Cannes in support of the original film's international launch (Legacy Rights has sold key territories in Europe and Asia). The group made a surprise appearance at the Deadline party where they serenaded industry with original songs and cover classics in their own inimitable style. Duets are overrated, anyway…

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