The Hollywood remake of the Icelandic-Dutch thriller REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM, titled CONTRABAND, continues to do well in the USA.
The film has grossed over 46 million dollars as of last week and even became the number 1 box office hit there in its opening weekend.

CONTRABAND is being released worldwide by Universal, which also handled the production. In the USA, the film has been released in nearly 3,000 theaters.
The film is also already showing in Canada, Singapore, and Russia, among others. The film will be released in Dutch cinemas on March 8, 2012.

The lead roles are played by a star-studded cast including Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckingsale, Lukas Haas, and Ben Foster.
The direction is in the hands of Baltasar Kormákur, who plays the lead role in the original.

The original REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM is an international co-production between the Dutch production company Rotterdam Films, owned by Dick Rijneke and Mildred van Leeuwaarden, and the Icelandic production house Blueeyes Productions, owned by Baltasar Kormákur and Agnes Johansen.

The award-winning thriller REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM was previously selected as the Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was soon picked up by Hollywood, and a remake was in the works for 2010.
Both co-producers of REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM own the film rights to the 100% remake CONTRABAND. The original screenplay was written by Icelandic bestselling author Arnaldur Indridason. He became known in the Netherlands with books such as *Noorderveen* and *Moordkuil*. The lead roles in REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM are played by an Icelandic star cast and the well-known Dutch actor Victor Lïw (known for *Lek* and *Karakter*, among others).

In the Netherlands, REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM premiered with great success at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2010, after which it was released in Dutch cinemas.

The filming of the original REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM took place in Rotterdam and Reykjavik.
The lead actor and producer of the original, as well as the director of the remake CONTRABAND, considered filming the remake in the Port of Rotterdam, a location he found extremely suitable.
Partly due to the sabotage by the Rotterdam Media Fund in the handling of REYKJAVIK - ROTTERDAM, this was abandoned. CONTRABAND was recorded in New Orleans and Panama.
The Rotterdam Media Fund was liquidated at the end of 2012.



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