Rialto Distribution

Overview

Rialto Distribution is an independent film distribution company serving Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), founded in 1993 by Kelly Rogers. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, with operations across both Australia and New Zealand. Rialto's library exceeds 550 titles valued at over $10 million, spanning European arthouse, prestige drama, horror, crossover genre films, and quality international productions. The company employs 12 staff and has generated close to $11 million at the ANZ box office over the past two years alone.

Rialto's biggest theatrical hit in 2025-2026 is Obsession, a horror film that surpassed $25 million at the ANZ box office, making it one of the most successful theatrical horror releases in the region's recent history. The film held a top-5 box office position for eight weeks after its mid-May 2025 opening. Another 2024 release, Longlegs (Osgood Perkins), opened to $2.68 million in ANZ, Rialto's biggest opening week since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Leadership and Ownership

Kelly Rogers is the founder and CEO of Rialto Distribution, a position he has held since January 1993 (32+ years). Rogers built the company in partnership with David Ross, an accountant and movie buff who also co-founded the Rialto cinema chain in New Zealand. Their 30-year business relationship was built on a handshake. Ross owns the Rialto Channel on Sky NZ, a premium movie channel that programs arthouse and independent cinema.

Rogers is also active in New Zealand film production, having served as executive producer on the documentary Frocks & Divas and the action-drama MURU. He is based in Auckland, New Zealand, while the company's headquarters are in Melbourne, Australia.

In 2024, Rialto secured a multi-million-dollar private equity funding line to expand acquisitions and hired UK-based Giles Edwards as head of acquisitions, production and development. Edwards works alongside Rogers to acquire titles at major film markets including Cannes, Berlin, and Toronto. The company is actively seeking equity investment partners to expand operations into selective international territories beyond ANZ.

Catalog and Track Record

Rialto's catalog spans more than three decades of acquisitions. Notable past releases include:

• A Man Called Ove (Scandinavian arthouse hit)
• Donnie Darko (cult classic)
• The Machinist (Christian Bale)
• Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh)
• Amazing Grace (Aretha Franklin documentary)
• American Splendor
• As It Is in Heaven
• The Visitor
• Young@Heart
• The Millennium Trilogy (Swedish-language adaptations of Stieg Larsson's novels)

Recent theatrical hits include:

• Obsession (2025) - $25 million+ at ANZ box office, on track to become highest-grossing horror film in ANZ in the past decade
• Longlegs (2024) - $2.68 million opening week
• Immaculate (Sydney Sweeney)
• The Taste of Things (Juliette Binoche, Cannes Competition)
• The Hating Game
• Riders of Justice (Mads Mikkelsen)
• Honest Thief (Liam Neeson)
• The Ice Road (Liam Neeson)
• La Belle Epoque
• The Godmother
• A Call to Spy
• Blacklight (Liam Neeson)
• Love, Weddings and Other Disasters

Galaxy Pictures Joint Venture

In late 2023, Rialto Distribution launched Galaxy Pictures, a joint venture with London-based Vertigo Releasing, dedicated to the ANZ market. The partnership gives both companies more clout in the international market by co-acquiring and co-releasing films across Australia and New Zealand. Vertigo CEO Rupert Preston and head of acquisitions Ed Caffrey oversee the UK side, while Rialto manages ANZ releasing.

Galaxy Pictures titles include The Exorcism (Russell Crowe) and Sleeping Dogs (Russell Crowe). The venture allows Rialto to compete for titles that might otherwise go to larger ANZ distributors by offering multi-territory acquisition deals that are more attractive to international sales agents.

2026 Release Slate

Rialto Distribution's upcoming release slate includes:

• The Weight - Depression-era gold-smuggling thriller starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe
• De Gaulle - Pathe's two-part epic biographical drama about Charles de Gaulle's leadership of the French Resistance
• A Town in Nova Scotia - Liverpool-set comedy-drama featuring Bill Nighy as a widower who takes on his ageing tower block
• Sunny Dancer - Coming-of-age dramedy led by Bella Ramsey
• La Bola Negra - Cannes-winning Spanish drama (Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, Best Director) tracing three interconnected lives across three eras of queer history
• Young Washington - Big-screen biopic of America's first president, in partnership with Angel Studios
• Zero A.D. - Epic biblical drama, in partnership with Angel Studios
• Wolf Creek: Legacy - Next chapter of Australia's iconic horror franchise
• Sia: My Elastic Heart - Pop icon Sia's concert film revisiting her 2016 world tour
• Little Miracles - Country music drama starring Delta Goodrem
• Animal Farm - Animated adaptation of George Orwell's novel
• The Wizard of the Kremlin
• Beast
• Iron Lung
• Holy Days
• The Removalists

Rialto has also acquired global rights to Tina, a New Zealand film written, co-produced and directed by New Zealand-Samoan filmmaker Miki Magasiva, with a US theatrical release set for August 29, 2026. New Zealand, Australia, and Pacific distribution is managed by Madman Entertainment.

Distribution Model

Rialto Distribution operates across all platform windows:

• Theatrical: Primary business, releasing films across Australian and New Zealand cinema chains and independent venues
• Home entertainment: DVD and Blu-ray for select titles
• VOD: Digital rental and purchase platforms
• Pay TV: Licensing to premium movie channels including the Rialto Channel on Sky NZ
• SVOD: Licensing to subscription streaming services

The company acquires films at major markets including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and through its UK-based head of acquisitions. Rialto targets quality arthouse titles, crossover horror, and action features with star casts. MG levels vary based on the film's festival profile, cast, and commercial potential, with the 2024 private equity funding line allowing the company to acquire up to eight strong titles per market.

ANZ Market Context

Australia and New Zealand represent a combined theatrical market of approximately 30 million people. The market supports a strong independent cinema culture, with chains including Event Cinemas, Hoyts, and Reading Cinemas alongside independent venues like the Rialto Cinemas in Auckland's CBD. New Zealand has a particularly strong cinema culture relative to its population of 5 million, with engaged audiences in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

During COVID, Rialto was the top independent distribution company in ANZ providing content to cinemas, when major studio releases were delayed. This period strengthened Rialto's relationships with exhibitors and demonstrated the company's ability to sustain operations through market disruption.

New Zealand's film industry is supported by the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), which funds production, development, and distribution of New Zealand films. International co-productions with New Zealand creative involvement can access NZFC support. Rialto's domestic distribution relationships give it context for understanding how NZFC-supported productions fit into the ANZ distribution landscape.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For international filmmakers seeking ANZ theatrical distribution, Rialto is the primary independent arthouse and prestige distributor. New Zealand is typically acquired as part of an Australia-New Zealand rights package in international sales deals, though filmmakers with New Zealand co-production involvement or New Zealand subjects may pursue the territory independently.

Rialto is actively expanding through its Galaxy Pictures joint venture with Vertigo Releasing and its private equity funding line. The company is acquiring more aggressively than at any point in its history, targeting up to eight strong titles per major market. Filmmakers with quality international films, crossover horror, or action features with star casts should ensure their sales agent is presenting to Rialto's acquisitions team.

For New Zealand filmmakers, Rialto's acquisition of global rights to Tina demonstrates the company's willingness to handle international release coordination for ANZ-originated projects, not just domestic distribution.

Contact Rialto Distribution through their website at rialtodistribution.com or through sales agent introductions at Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, or AFM.

Watch: Trailers

See Also

For how Australia-New Zealand distribution rights are typically packaged in international sales deals, see Distribution Deals Explained. For Australian theatrical distribution alongside New Zealand, see the Sharmill Films and Palace Films entries in this directory. To model theatrical box office revenue against P&A spend for an ANZ release, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator.