Alan Tudyk

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Russell Crowe’s remake of the old Western "3:10 to Yuma" finally has found a home.

Lionsgate has come aboard to distribute the film, which will begin shooting next month in New Mexico. Christian Bale also stars. James Mangold ("Walk the Line") directs.

With a budget of close to $80 million, "Yuma" is bigger than most films handled by Lionsgate, which is better known for such inexpensive hits as the "Saw" and "Madea" franchises.

"We are not abandoning the niche markets and the cost-efficient driven genre movie, but on occasion we are going to go beyond our reach," said Peter Block, president of acquisitions and co-productions. "This is a thoughtful and calculated step up."

The project originally spent four years in development at Columbia, which was planning to start shooting it this past summer. Tom Cruise had been circling the project for his follow-up to "Mission: Impossible III," with Eric Bana rumored to be in pursuit of a role as well.

But Columbia scrapped the project, and producer Cathy Konrad and Mangold, her husband, shopped the film to various studios. Last month, Relativity Media came aboard to finance the movie.

"Yuma" is based on the 1957 film that starred Glenn Ford as Ben Wade, an outlaw who finds himself in the custody of small-time rancher Dan Evans. The rancher is secretly trying to take Wade to a railway station to catch a train to Yuma for the outlaw’s court date. A battle of wills ensues.

Mangold’s take sees Crowe as the outlaw and Bale as the rancher. Alan Tudyk ("Serenity") has joined the cast as a doctor who helps the rancher get the outlaw on the train.