Crackle Plus, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company and one of the largest operators of streaming advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) networks, announced today that original feature film Blast will premiere May 5, exclusively on Crackle. 

The French thriller is the debut film of director Vanya Peirani-Vignes who also wrote the screenplay alongside Pablo Barbetti (casting for such films as Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Lucy) with photography led by Cesar Award-winning French cinematographer Thierry Arbogast. It stars Nora Arnezeder as the lead Sonia, as well as Pierre Kiwitt (Das Boot, Mr. Stein Goes Online) and Sara Mortensen (In Safe Hands, Contact).

Blast takes place in a Parisian parking lot, where Sonia finds herself trapped in her car with her son and the daughter of her boyfriend Fred, who has been left outside, powerless to deal with the situation: an anti-tank mine has been set under the car. Sonia is a bomb-disposal expert who works for a non-government organization with Fred. She just got back from a mission in Ukraine, and while she’s used to facing dangerous situations, with the children’s lives on the line, the stakes have never been higher. Along with colleagues Igor and Camille, who came to the rescue, Sonia and Fred have 30 minutes to diffuse the bomb and determine who could be the mastermind behind it. Will they stand united until the end, or will the family implode under pressure?

“This high-concept thriller is disarming in more ways than one and is just the kind of quality content our viewers expect from Crackle,” said Jeff Meier, head of programming for Crackle Plus. “We’re excited to launch Blast on May 5 and know the audience will be on the edge of their seats from start to finish.”

The film is produced by Paris-based Wide and is distributed in the U.S. by Screen Media.

The Crackle Plus streaming services are currently distributed through 70 touchpoints in the U.S. on platforms including Amazon FireTV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and Xbox One), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com, with previously announced plans to expand to over 90 touchpoints. Crackle is also available in approximately 500,000 hotel rooms in the Marriott Bonvoy chain.

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT  

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) (the “Company”) operates streaming video- on-demand networks (VOD). The Company owns Crackle Plus, which owns and operates a variety of ad- supported VOD networks including Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix. The Company also acquires and distributes video content through its Screen Media and 1091 Pictures subsidiaries and produces original video content through the Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.  

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Such assumptions involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to our core strategy, operating income and margin, seasonality, liquidity, including cash flows from operations, available funds, and access to financing sources, free cash flows, revenues, net income, profitability, stock price volatility, future regulatory changes, price changes, the ability of the Company’s content offerings to achieve market acceptance, the Company’s success in retaining or recruiting officers, key employees, or directors, the ability to protect intellectual property, the ability to complete strategic acquisitions, the ability to manage growth and integrate acquired operations, the ability to pay dividends, regulatory or operational risks, and general market conditions impacting demand for the Company’s services. For a more complete description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.