Fathom Entertainment Brings the U.S. Theatrical Release of Luke Sparke’s Dinosaur Vietnam War Thriller “Primitive War” to Theatres Nationwide Starting August 21
Published by on Jul 17, 2025 8:00 AM
Fathom Entertainment Brings the U.S. Theatrical Release of Luke Sparke’s Dinosaur Vietnam War Thriller Primitive War to Theatres Nationwide Starting August 21
Book Adaptation Written for the Screen and Directed by Luke Sparke Features a Cult Favorite Cast with Jeremy Piven, Ryan Kwanten, Tricia Helfer and Nick Weschle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES and DENVER – July 17, 2025 – Fathom Entertainment, the leading specialty distributor of content to theatrical partners worldwide, announced today the company will distribute to theatres nationwide director Luke Sparke’s latest film, Primitive War. Receiving one million trailer views within the first 24 hours of its debut, the highly anticipated dinosaur Vietnam War film will be at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25.
Featuring Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”), Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Lucifer”), Nick Wechsler (“The Boys”) and Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”), the film will come to theatres nationwide beginning August 21.
Known for his gritty, suspenseful directing style, Luke Sparke’s latest film, Primitive War, takes place during the Vietnam War in 1968. A search and rescue team known as “Vulture Squad” is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. As they hunt through the primordial depths of the valley, they discover ancient horrors that not only threaten to unravel their minds but also to end their lives . Dinosaurs have somehow been unleashed, and when the casualties mount, the members of “Vulture Squad” must abandon their human nature and give in to their savage instincts in order to survive…
Based on the popular sci-fi novel by Ethan Pettus, Luke Sparke brings you Primitive War.
“Fans of the ‘Primitive War’ novel and summer moviegoers looking to be entertained with a fresh new action thriller will flock to the big screen adaptation Primitive War,” said Ray Nutt, Chief Executive Officer for Fathom Entertainment “The combination of action, wartime survival, and – of course – dinosaurs in an original feature film make for a great sleeper entrant to the summer 2025 box office slate.”
Primitive War is the latest feature film from director Luke Sparke, known for his 2021 film ”Occupation: Rainfall,” a New York Times pick for their Top 5 Action Films to Stream, making him one to watch. His last film, Scurry, made its festival world premiere in September at the 2024 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival, winning the “Audience Choice Award.” The film was shot in Queensland, Australia, at the Sparke Films studio on the Gold Coast, in real-time using only one take. It made its market premiere at AFM on Tuesday, November 5, to fan acclaim.
Tickets for Primitive War are now available at Fathom Entertainment and participating theatre box offices (theatre locations are subject to change).
Follow us on social media on TikTok, Instagram, X, and Facebook.
Media Passes:
Media passes are available on a limited basis to qualifying members of the press at participating theatre locations.
Assets:
For artwork and photos, visit the Fathom Entertainment press site.
About Fathom Entertainment
Fathom Entertainment is the leading global specialty distributor of live and pre-recorded content to theaters. For more than 20 years, Fathom has pioneered theatrical distribution of events and special engagements, including performing arts, movies, episodic content, and other special event programming across various genres and formats. Fathom offers content creators a worldwide cinema distribution network by operating in 45 countries and boasts a live digital broadcast network of more than 1,100 locations. Fathom is owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), and Regal Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L). For more information, visit FathomEntertainment.com.
About Sparke Films
Sparke Films is an Australian-based company focusing on an exciting slate of action, genre and character-driven films. To date, their list has included the historic two-part TV series ‘YESTERDAY IS HISTORY’, the monster movie ‘RED BILLABONG,’ followed by the alien invasion films ‘OCCUPATION’ and ‘OCCUPATION RAINFALL’ starring Temuera Morrison, Ken Jeong and Daniel Gillies and the crime drama BRING HIM TO ME with Barry Pepper, Sam Neill and Rachel Griffiths. Their latest film, the creature feature SCURRY is complete and will be released in the third quarter. The company has also announced development is underway on the adaptation of John Birmingham’s trilogy to a tv series currently titled ‘WEAPONS OF CHOICE’ and several other feature films in different stages.
About Let It Be Entertainment
Let It Be Entertainment is an independent film and television production company founded in 2021 by Carmel Imrie and Geoff Imrie. Since its inception, the company has worked closely in partnership with Sparke Films as Executive Producer, contributing to a range of high-concept and ambitious projects; Occupation; Rainfall, Bring Him To Me, Scurry and Primitive War. Let It Be Entertainment has continued to play a key role in supporting original storytelling through development, co-production, and creative collaboration.
Credits:
Director: Luke Sparke
Based on the book by: Ethan Pettus
Screenwriter: Luke Sparke
Producers: Carmel Imrie, Carly Sparke and Luke Sparke
Executive Producers: Luke Sparke, Geoff Imrie, Carmel Imrie, Carly Sparke, Andrew Boulton, Colin Hurdle, Kelly Clifford, Enver Eren, Kenneth Kades and Darius Googe
Co-Producer: Alex Becconsall
Cast: Ryan Kwanten Tricia Helfer, Nick Wechsler, Jeremy Piven, Anthony Ingruber, Aaron Glenane, Carlos Sanson Jr, Ana Thu Nguyen, Adolphus Waylee, and Jake Ryan
Special Effects Supervisor: Brock Wareham
Visual Effects Producer & Visual Effects Supervisor: Luke Sparke
Year: 2025
Language: English
Country: Australia, United States
Release Date: August 21, 2025
###
Contacts:
Jennifer Curran
Platform PR
[email protected]
Eric Becker
Fathom Entertainment
(303) 638-3469
[email protected]