Munro Films & Lightbulb Film Distribution are delighted to announce that the British independent sci-fi feature, Invasion Planet Earth, will have its UK release later this year.

A theatrical release date of 5th December has been set and the film will be released on Digital Download on 16th December, shortly followed by the DVD release on 30th December.

“After the death of his young daughter, Tom Dunn is a broken man. When his wife falls pregnant again, he cannot believe their luck. However, his joy is short lived, as on the very same day, the people of Earth become plagued with terrifying visions of the end of the world.

When a gigantic, all-consuming alien mothership appears in the sky and launches a ruthless attack on Earth’s cities, chaos and destruction follow!

Tom must find the strength and wisdom to save his wife and unborn child. However, first he must confront a shocking truth. A truth which threatens the key to the survival of the human race.

The ultimate war for Planet Earth is about to begin…”

The story of the production of the film is a remarkable one. A true passion project, Invasion Planet Earth has taken twenty years to make from inception to release.

The film, originally titled Kaleidoscope Man, is the brainchild of British filmmaker Simon Cox, who directed, co-wrote, edited, as well as supervised and produced the vfx. Taking inspiration from sci-fi classics such as Star Wars and The War of the Worlds, Simon began working on the film in the 90s, spending six years filming around the Birmingham area.

After years of pitching to the UK film industry and private investors, a small amount of money was raised which Simon used to produce a pilot and for concept art to be created. However, it soon became apparent that funding this movie in what was then, the traditional way, was not going to happen. In 2012, Simon took the bold decision to crowdfund the film using social media.

It took two years and seven campaigns for Simon and his team to raise a significant amount of money which enabled them to shoot around a third of the movie. These included a spectacular scene in Central Birmingham where nine hundred extras turned up, in an epic, War of the Worlds style battle scene.

Simon then found some investors who financed the rest of the movie. However, this took time and once the live action scenes were finally shot, the special effects took another two and a half years to complete. In total, the movie was in production for seven years with ten years before that in development. Such was the multitude of generous donors and patrons of this project; the film lists over 100 producers on IMDb!

Invasion Planet Earth will also include an end title song by Toyah Willcox (Jubilee, Quadrophenia) who also stars in the film. Matt Allsopp (Godzilla, Rogue One) provided original concept art for the film.

Both Munro Films and Lightbulb Film distribution were delighted to be releasing this testament to independent British filmmaking.

“Simon Cox had the vision and drive to make the kind of film he and sci-fi fans want to see. It’s the ultimate nostalgic homage and very effective,” says Munro Film’s managing director, Frank Smith. “There’s a clear fanbase, and Simon should also be applauded for engaging a community of fans for the film over the years, many of whom featured as extras in crowd scenes. They, along with sci-fi fans across the UK can now enjoy Invasion Planet Earth and we are very happy about that.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be releasing Invasion Planet Earth,” said Lightbulb’s Commercial Director, Matthew Kreuzer. “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this film for the past few months with Simon and his team. What he has created over the past 20 years is a fantastic action / sci-fi film with a nod to the sci-fi programmes we used to watch in the 70’s and 80’s (Dr Who, Blake’s 7, Space 1999 and Buck Rogers). It has such a cool retro feel about it and yet he has combined this with strong CGI elements, bringing it up to the modern day.”

Ahead of the UK release, the cast and crew will be present at MCM Comic Con Birmingham on Sunday 17th November, where they will be on a panel on the main stage talking Behind The Scenes of Invasion Planet Earth. Shortly after, Simon Cox will also lead a workshop on Creating Special Effects on a Budget.

Invasion Planet Earth opens in UK Cinemas from 5th December and is available on Digital Download from 16th December and DVD on 30th December. For one night only on 5th December, cinema screenings will be followed by From Dream to Screen, a documentary featurette by Simon Cox.