Big-budget action-thriller The Hurricane Heist from director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious, xXx) has landed at Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures. The news comes fresh off the company’s successful release of 47 Meters Down, which has earned $41.1M domestic to date. The deep-water shark thriller starring Mandy Moore marked their first foray into theatrical distribution.

The Hurricane Heist, which is slated to open in theaters in the first quarter of 2018, was written by Cohen, Scott Windhauser, Jeff Dixon, Anthony Fingleton and Carlos Davis. Moshe Diamant has signed on to produce alongside Mark Damon, Chris Milburn, Rob Cohen, Karen Baldwin, Michael Tadross, Jr., Damiano Tucci, Danny Roth, and Bill Immerman.

The story follows a team of tech hackers embarking on a $600 million robbery from a coastal U.S. mint facility at the same time a disastrous Category 5 hurricane is set to strike. The remaining people left in the deserted beach town are a meteorologist (Tony Kebbel), a Treasury agent (Maggie Grace) and the meteorologist’s ex-Marine brother (Ryan Kwanten). Together they not only must survive the hurricane, but also stop the mastermind thieves from accomplishing the heist of the century.

“The Hurricane Heist is a non-stop epic action motion picture,” said Allen in a statement. “Rob Cohen has delivered a thrill ride that is going to keep audiences on the edge of their seats worldwide.”

Added Mark Damon, Chairman and CEO of Foresight Unlimited, which is handling international sales: “We’re delighted to have Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures acquire this big budget event film. Byron Allen and his team are very creative, aggressive, and an absolute force to be reckoned with. I’m highly confident that The Hurricane Heist will be a solid hit for this new, innovative distributor.”

The deal was negotiated with CAA by Damon as well as ESMP’s Head of Acquisitions, Chris Charalambous, and Jenna Sanz-Agero.