LevelK and Publikum Kick Off Strategic Partnership With The Pension Heist Action Comedy
International sales and aggregation house LevelK has acquired world sales rights to Gunnbjörg Gunnarsdóttir’s hilariously funny The Pension Heist in which three women in their prime pull off the impossible: a heist against the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
The Pension Heist is the first feature to benefit from LevelK’s strategic partnership with audience insight company Publikum, established last year to invest in the strengthening and refining of sales and marketing tools for a selected number of titles. The collaboration aims to unlock each film’s full audience potential and ensure it connects with viewers worldwide. Publikum has previously contributed to LevelK titles including the Berlinale Competition selection Dust and Our Girls.
Produced by Jørgen Storm Rosenberg for 74 Entertainment, and written by Peder Udnæs, The Pension Heist starts when 65-year-old Annema discovers that her husband has been unfaithful and kicks her out. Desperate for money she teams up with her two friends: Nina who recently got fired for being too old and Mona who needs money for a crucial operation. Together they take matters into their own hands and decide to rob the Norwegian Oil Fund.
"I adore Gunnbjørg’s colorful directing style and her talent for choosing projects that entertain while still carrying a spark of truth. The Pension Heist is a perfect example. It is an action comedy that invites us to laugh with respect and genuine affection at the way we see age and ageing. It’s also a real pleasure to collaborate with Jørgen and Publikum on optimizing all elements surrounding the film.” Tine Klint - CEO of LevelK
“The growing market of mature viewers presents an exciting opportunity,” says Jørgen Storm Rosenberg of 74 Entertainment. “And The Pension Heist is set to tap into this demographic by offering relatable, entertaining content that appeals to their interests and experiences.”
“When we entered into a strategic partnership with LevelK last summer,” explains Publikum CEO Niels Alberg, “it immediately felt right to gather even more insights about both the film, the audience and the markets. As a company, we have for some time worked to anchor audience insights across all phases of a film - from development to sales and distribution - because we believe that one of the greatest untapped potentials for European film lies in a more seamless collaboration between the film’s artistic and commercial interests and stakeholders.
“We are very pleased that Pension Heist has provided such a strong first experience with this approach,” continues Alberg. “We have greatly valued the collaboration so far and look forward to the next phase of work, which will bring the film even closer to audiences across multiple territories.”
Besides a director, Gunnarsdóttir is also a writer and editor known for her bold, character‑driven storytelling. Her feature debut Forever and Never (For evig og aldri, 2018) established her as a distinctive new voice in Nordic cinema. She later co‑directed the acclaimed documentary The Art of Fallism (2019) and returned to fiction with Victoria Must Go (Victoria må dø, 2024). Half Icelandic and half Norwegian, she brings a unique cross‑cultural perspective to her films, blending emotional precision with visual flair and colour.
The Pension Heist stars Hege Schøyen (Thomas Vs. Thomas) as Annema, Anne Marie Ottersen (Sex) and Anette Hoff (Victoria must go). DOP is Øyvind Svanes Lunde, with Frida Eggum Michaelsen, Kalle Doniselli Gulbrandsen and Ivar Myhrvold as editors, and Olav Øyehaug signing as composer.
The Norwegian release is set for 16 October 2026 through SF Studios.
The Pension Heist is produced by 74 Entertainment, in co-production with Påfilm in Norway, and supported by the Norwegian Film Institute, SF Studios, LevelK, Publikum and Mediefondet Zefyr AS.
LevelK is a Copenhagen-based international film sales and aggregation house. Rooted in Nordic values such as trust, transparency, equality and freedom of speech we employ a carefully targeted bespoke sales, marketing and festivals strategy for each of our titles. We mainly work on European and English-language features which have strong sales potential and festival presence. With an innovative approach to cross-platform/cross-country distribution, specialising in rights optimisations, we ensure the best path for each title.
www.levelk.dk
74 Entertainment is a leading Norwegian production company created and led by Jørgen Storm Rosenberg. Dedicated to high-concept genre films with strong commercial appeal, the company has quickly made a mark on the international market.
Credits include the global Netflix hit The Trip (I Onde Dager),the holiday horror comedy There's Something in the Barn, the outlandish animation Spermageddon and the WWII action drama Gold Run (Gulltransporten).
74 Entertainment focuses on delivering premium entertainment across action, comedy, and animation.
www.74entertainment.no
PUBLIKUM works with AI-enhanced anthropology and has, since 2001, supported more than 150 film and television projects in expanding their audiences and uncovering new, original perspectives. The company focuses on bridging artistic ambition and commercial strategy by mapping cultural relevance within the zeitgeist, providing structured narrative feedback, and generating insight into audience references and comparative expectations.
PUBLIKUM is a team of anthropologists, sociologists, and social data scientists, with offices in Copenhagen and Hamburg.
publikum.io
