Looking ahead to next year's awards season, The Weinstein Co. has plunked down a hearty $7 million for U.S. rights to World War II drama The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the famed cryptographer who played a key role in cracking the Nazi's Enigma Code before being prosecuted for homosexuality, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Footage from the film was shown Friday to buyers at the European Film Market, sparking heated interest.

Morten Tyldum is directing the film, which he finished shooting last fall from an adapted Black List script by Graham Moore. Cumberbatch stars opposite Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong.

The project was made a reality by Teddy Schwarzman's Black Bear Pictures after Warner Bros. put Imitation Game, based on the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, into turnaround. At one point, Leonardo DiCaprio was interested in playing the role of Alan Turing.