(Bloomberg) -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will distribute the next James Bond film in the U.S., bringing the 007 franchise back to the Hollywood studio for the first time in 16 years, while Universal Pictures will handle overseas and DVDs in a big win for parent Comcast Corp.

Through its recently arranged distribution joint venture with Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, MGM will release the next Bond in November 2019 in the U.S., with Daniel Craig reprising the role of 007, MGM and Universal said in a statement Thursday. The spy thriller will open first in the U.K. and internationally on Oct. 25, 2019.

For MGM, the agreement with Bond film franchise producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson marks a new step in its rehabilitation since emerging from bankruptcy in 2010 and following a management shake-up. The Los Angeles studio has been rebuilding its production and distribution capability with the backing of hedge-fund shareholders led by Anchorage Capital Group. MGM can now largely sidestep major Hollywood studios by releasing movies itself, which also means it bears greater risk if the film flops.

By securing international distribution, Universal gets a leg up in its fight with rivals such as Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. for content. Hollywood studios had been pitching the producers to replace Sony Pictures, whose deal expired after the “Spectre” installment in 2015.

The 25th film in the franchise is scheduled to begin shooting in December with director Danny Boyle.

The James Bond franchise has been among Hollywood’s most successful, with box office sales totaling almost $6 billion in the U.S. and Canada alone, adjusting for inflation, according to Box Office Mojo. The last Bond film MGM released was “Die Another Day” in 2002. 21st Century Fox Inc. previously had home-video rights under a separate deal that expired in 2016. MGM retains television and digital home entertainment rights.

In October, MGM, which made classics such as “Gone With the Wind,” said it would use the new joint venture with Annapurna to book theaters and market films starting in 2018. A team from Annapurna, founded by the daughter of Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison, will handle the campaigns for MGM titles, and both companies will share the expenses, according to the statement.

(Updates with director and date of shooting in sixth paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Anousha Sakoui in Los Angeles at asakoui@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Dave McCombs, Jeff Sutherland

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