HOLLYWOOD BUYS NIGHT WATCH DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS

MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - 20th Century Fox has bought the world distribution rights of the Russian blockbuster Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch. The U.S. company paid $2 million for each film. The sum of the contract on the third film, Dusk Watch, has not been disclosed yet, Vremya Novostei newspaper said.

According to U.S. weekly Variety, Hollywood producers will invest in shooting of the third part of the fantasy trilogy, Dusk Watch.

Fox Searchlight, 20th Century Fox subsidiary, will promote the movies in the west. According to company's representative Peter Rice, the films will be shown in the U.S. under Fox Searchlight logo next summer.

The Hollywood giant invests in the distribution and production of a Russian film for the fist time in the history of Russian cinematography.

The shooting of Night Watch cost its producers only $4 million. Such sums are not typical of Hollywood blockbusters. However, the unbelievable success of the cheap screen adaptation of Sergei Lukyanenko's novel (Night Watch collected $16 million in Russia beating The Lord of the Rings) might change the viewpoint of Hollywood producers.