British Cinema - 'Shaun of the Dead'

Year of release (UK)
the film had its premier in London on 29th March, 2004. It was later released on 9th April, 2004.

International release dates
the film opened in the USA on 24th September, 2004. other international dates included:
Netherlands - 12th August 2004
Australia - 7th October 2004
Spain - 29th October 2004
Czech Republic - 2nd November 2004
Germany - 30th December 2004

Genre
Horror - for its goriness and use of zombies.
Romantic - Shaun being dumped by Liz and the chase to win her back, risking his life for her. She is essentially the heroin of the story while Shaun could be seen as the hero.
Comedy
As well as these genres, I feel that it could also be seen as a parody of typical American zombie horror films. This is because of instead hiding in a big, secure building, such as shopping centre, they chose a pub. Another factor being that Shaun found the word 'zombie' to be ridiculous, and in many American films like 'Dawn of the Dead' they are never directly called zombies.

Prior to the release of the film, a remake of 'Dawn of the Dead' had been released just a few weeks before (USA). British horror film '28 Days Later' had also been released in 2002 along with 'Resident Evil' (2002 USA), so this could have possibly lead the way for the main obstacle for 'Shaun of the Dead' to be zombies. However, in all films like I mentioned above, the word 'zombie' is never used to describe the undead.

Director
the film was directed by Edgar Wright, who had previously worked with Simon Pegg (Shaun) on the TV sitcom 'Spaced'.

Producer
The film was produced by Nira Park, who had also previously worked with Pegg on 'Spaced'.
Executive producers - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Alison Owen, Natascha Wharton, James Wilson

Production companies
the production companies involved were Universal Pictures and Rogue Pictures, both of which are based in California, USA.

Funding
The film was funded by Big Talk Productions and Film 4 International.

Studios
The mostly involved the use of British studios, with Working Title Films, WT2 Productions and Big Talk productions, which are all based in London. Studio Canal was also involved, which is based in Paris, France.

Publicity in the UK
A promotional tour took place to publicize the film.

Marketing with the stars

International stars
A key international star in the film is Dylan Moran, who is famous for his comedy stand-ups and for starring in the sitcom 'Black Books' with Bill Bailey.

Marketing in the UK

International marketing

UK success
The film was a success in the UK both critically and financially. Reviewing the film for the BBC, Nev Perice said that it was a "side-splitting, head-smashing, gloriously gory horror comedy" that will "amuse casual viewers and delight genre fans."

European success
gained a gross of 115, 304 Euros in the Netherlands.


International success
The film was successful financially worldwide, with a total gross of $30,039,392.

Opening weekend UK figures
£1,603,410 - on the 11th April, 2004

Distribution UK/International
the film was distributed by Universal Pictures and Rogue Pictures.

Audience attraction
Many fans of the sitcom 'Spaced' which involved cast members Simon Pegg (Shaun). Nick Frost (Ed), Jessica Hynes (Yvonne) and director Edgar Wright, were called in as zombie extras. This was done through the 'Spaced out' fan website.