LevelK Closes Key Pre-Sales on Danish Animation Sequel ‘Checkered Ninja 2’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy
·2 min read

LevelK has closed a flurry of major pre-sales on “Checkered Ninja 2,” the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster animated feature that broke a 35-year record at the Danish B.O. for a local film with 950,000 admissions. Directed by Anders Matthesen (“Terkel In Trouble”) and Thorbjørn Christoffersen (“Ronal the Barbarian”), the film also traveled to more than 50 territories.

Now in post-production, “Checkered Ninja 2” has pre-sold to Koba Films for France, Splendid for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. LevelK also pre-sold the feature to Spain and Colombia (Cinemaran).

More from Variety

The sales company is currently negotiating further deals at the EFM. The film’s producer, Trine Heidegaard (“Ronal the Barbarian”) from Pop Up Production, and animation director Thorbjørn Christoffersen will next week pitch the sequel at Cartoon Movie, the co-production market dedicated to animation.

“Checkered Ninja 2,” which is scheduled to have its local release in the fall, is the film version of Matthesen’s bestselling children’s book “Checkered Ninja 2.” The plot revolves around Alex and the Checkered Ninja who embark on a frantic hunt for the villain Phillip Eppermint, who has evaded a prison sentence in Thailand.

“We are super delighted with the job LevelK did selling in ‘Checkered Ninja’ and it was such a pleasure to see how dedicated many of the distributors worked with our film in their markets – and had success with it,” said Heidegaard and Anders Mastrup, who co-produced the film at A Film Production (“Journey to Saturn”). “We are full of hope and really excited to see how it goes for LevelK and Checkered Ninja 2 out there and how it will expand into new territories.”

“Checkered Ninja 2” is financed by Sudoku ApS, A Film Production A/S, Pop Up Production ApS, The Danish Film Institute, Nordisk Film Distribution, YouSee and The Nordic Film & TV Fond.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.