Netflix and Kevin Hart are continuing their strong relationship as sources tell Deadline that Hart is set to star in the comedy 72 Hours with Tim Story directing.
Hartbeat, Davis Entertainment, Counterbalance and Will Packer are producing from a script by Matt Mider & Kevin Burrows, Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg, who penned the script ten years ago.
The film follows a 40-year-old executive who hopes to save his flailing career by joining a group of twentysomethings on a wild three-day bachelor party, after he’s inadvertently added to their group text. Ross Fanger is exec producing.
The film is being produced under a partnership in which Sony Pictures will offer Netflix a first look at any films it intends to make for streaming.
Davis Entertainment had been spearheading the development of the project going back to when Hurwitz and Schlossberg penned the initial draft. When Hart recently committed to star, followed by his Ride Along director Story, the project gained new life and has become a high priority for Netflix.
The film is part of Hartbeat’s long-standing relationship bringing comedy to the platform. Last year, they released Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only, The Roast of Tom Brady and Lift, which became the No. 1 global movie on Netflix, with 32.8 million views and 58.5 million hours viewed in its first three days on the platform. Prior to that, their 2022 film Me Time also debuted as the No. 1 movie.
Story has directed 11 major studio feature films, eight of which debuted at No. 1 at the box office during opening weekend: Tom & Jerry, Ride Along 2, Think Like a Man Too, Ride Along, Think Like a Man, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four and Barbershop. His films have grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, making him the first Black director to hit that milestone.
Counterbalance is coming off the finale of its hit Netflix series Cobra Kai and also is behind other successful R-rated comedy franchises as Harold & Kumar, American Reunion and Hot Tub Time Machine.
