Fathom Events presents Betty White: A Celebration in 1,529 locations nationwide, a one-day-only special event on Monday honoring the actress who died Dec. 31 just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday. The star-studded reflection on White’s life and career, which had already been set by filmmakers Steven Boettcher and Mike Trinklein to celebrate
Specialty Preview
Sony Pictures Entertainment follows its release of Parallel Mothers last week with Jockey in three theaters in NY/LA (Film Forum, AMC Lincoln Square, Laemmle Royal) in a specialty market crowded by holdovers and wide releases, and amid a Covid-19 surge that’s particularly tough on arthouses. The frame isn’t ideal for new specialty fare in any case but
Adult demos slow to embrace cinemas may be even slower this holiday weekend amid a barrage of breathless Omicron headlines — that aren’t all bad. It spreads fast but seems less virulent than previous strains, and may burn out faster. “I think we might get dinged a little bit,” said one distribution executive. However, “This
Much-lauded The Lost Daughter, Tribeca Fest winner The Novice, George Clooney’s The Tender Bar plus Swan Song with Mahershala Ali and the doc President dip a toe in the specialty market this Spidey-centric weekend amid gathering Covid clouds. The question: how will a surging infection rate (that just closed down theaters in Denmark and is
Sony Pictures Classics releases Telluride-darling documentary Julia with a national TV push, culinary events and virtual screenings through November hosted by famous chefs from Alice Waters (San Francisco) and Johnny Spero (Boston) to Jamie Bissonnette (Houston) and luminaries from New York, LA, Philly and Miami. Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen talked up the film
Neon presents Spencer on just under 1,000 screens, Pablo Larraín’s well reviewed psychological drama about the weekend Princess Diana rewrote the future of the British monarchy. The film is said to be looking at a $2-$2.5 million opening with an 84% Certified Fresh critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes but a 50% audience score (albeit from
Focus Features presents Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho, a twisty psycho-thriller with a great soundtrack, as Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch goes wider, testing the appeal of a director whose films have been called the arthouse equivalent of Marvel. Last Night, a time-bending genre tale, unspools on just over 3,000 screens, not exactly specialty
After a long Covid delay, The French Dispatch opens this weekend with distributor Searchlight Pictures and the industry hoping the whimsical Wes Anderson’s film brings a touch of Grand Budapest Hotel-ish coin to the specialty box office. Hoping, but not counting on it, as the box office take beyond studio tentpoles has been largely dour
IFC presents Mia Hansen-Løve’s Cannes entry Bergman Island, Film Movement brings Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy to the arthouse this weekend, as A24’s surprise hit Lamb and Greenwich Entertainment’s The Rescue go wider week two after a strong open. It’s early days but a nascent specialty revival may be in the works ahead of a stream of
The Rescue, an arresting truth-is-stranger-than fiction story of a Thai youth soccer team trapped in a remote flooded cave system opens on five screens in NY/LA/Chicago this weekend in a specialty market waiting “for audiences to wake up and see that they’re missing out,” according to Ed Arentz, co-president of the doc’s distributor Greenwich Entertainment.
Neon presents Julia Ducournau’s Titane, the lauded Palme d’Or winner set to test a stressed specialty market even as Messrs. Venom and Bond crash into wide release this weekend and next. The edgy, high octane French tale about a woman with a metal plate in her head and an automotive fetish hits 562 screens in
Bleecker Street’s I’m Your Man opens on 12 screens in seven markets, expanding to another 15 next week in a rare platform release banking on strong word of mouth for the well-reviewed, 94% Certified Fresh film that’s Germany’s entry for the 2022 International Feature Oscar race. Helmed by Unorthodox director Maria Schrader, the sci-fi romantic
The Eyes Of Tammy Faye has something going for it that Searchlight Pictures’ Summer of Soul did not — a minimum 45-day exclusive theatrical window now that Hollywood appear to be is in the midst of a pivot to encourage moviegoing. Eyes, directed by Michael Showalter, opens on 425 screens, expanding to another 400 next
A glum arthouse market may be entering a gateway weekend into happier days after months of distributors — with rare exceptions — pulling out their hair at dismal per-screens averages. That’s because festival buzz is mounting for film after film – from Card Counter, Dune and Spencer (debuted in Venice, opening respectively Sept 10, Oct.
Together, the lockdown drama from Bleeker Street, opens on 250 screens this weekend in a specialty market treading water and with little visibility on box office amid daily Covid headlines. The trend continues of specialty films going wider faster and narrowing the window from theatrical to VOD in a nod to the chunk of its
Documentaries about a da Vinci and a dictator, a Pablo Larraín drama with Gael Garcia Bernal, a Donnie Yen martial arts thriller by the late Benny Chan, and CODA, Apple’s record-busting Sundance acquisition, make specialty bows this weekend as the arthouse sector fights through a slow reopening. “The market is still finding a balance right
Science fiction drama Nine Days from Sony Pictures Classics opens in four theaters in a specialty market buoyed by recent releases like Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain and Pig. New York’s arthouse scene, outpaced by LA of late, is perking up, distributors say (Ailey numbers were super there) and moviegoers are rewarding unique films
Mark Wahlberg strides into theaters this weekend with Joe Bell as the Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men, upcoming King Richard) film debuts on 1,093 screens supported by robust advertising and a star-driven social media campaign. Roadside Attractions is distributing, having snapped up the film from Solstice Studios which acquired it off of a 2020
Two releases, very well reviewed and pretty widely available by recent specialty standards, look set to heat up the arthouse box office this weekend — Pig with Nicolas Cage in one of his best performances in years and Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain open on 600 and 952 screens respectively, and only in theaters. Oscar-winning
Questlove’s Summer of Soul is up to 753 theaters as the doc about the 1969 ‘Black Woodstock’ concert in Harlem that debuted in two locations last weekend crossed into arthouse, commercial and urban venues. Not that it was easy, said Frank Rodriguez, SVP General Sales Manager, Searchlight Pictures. “Exhibitors are eager to get back on
Oscar-winner Al Pacino and Meadow Williams star in American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally, the historical drama hitting select theaters this Memorial Day weekend via Vertical Entertainment and Redbox Entertainment. Michael Polish directed the film, which is based on a true story and follows the life of American woman Mildred Gillars (Williams) and her
Oscar nominee Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, and Owen Teale star in horse racing drama, Dream Horse, from Bleecker Street and Topic Studio. Directed by Euros Lyn, the film tells the true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely race horse bred by small town Welsh bartender, Jan Vokes (Collette). With very little money and no experience,
Oscar nominee Glenn Close and Mila Kunis star as a mother-and-daughter duo fighting to regain the love and trust that once held them together in the Rodrigo García-directed drama, Four Good Days, in select theaters today via Vertical Entertainment. Based on a true story by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post writer Eli Saslow, the pic follows
Ed Helms is looking forward to fatherhood in the Bleecker Street comedy Together Together, which hits select theaters today. Also starring Patti Harrison, Tig Notaro and Julio Torres, the film was written and directed by Nikole Beckwith. In the pic, a young loner Anna (Harrison) is hired as the surrogate for Matt (Helms), a single
Sebastian Stan and Denise Gough set off on a whirlwind weekend romance in Monday, a romantic drama that IFC Films released in theaters and on-demand Friday. It’s the fourth feature from director Argyris Papadimitropoulos, who also wrote and produced the film. Here is the plot: When Mickey (Stan) is dragged away from his DJ set
Lionsgate’s Voyagers isn’t your ordinary “the human race is in danger” sci fi romp. Written and directed by Neil Burger (Limitless, The Illusionist) Voyagers follows a group of young men and women bred specifically to have a great level of intelligence and obedience as they embark on an expedition to colonize a distant planet. Sounds like good, safe
Writer-director Emma Seligman brings her feature Shiva Baby to theaters and TVOD starting today — and it is quite a comedic ride. Released by Utopia, Shiva Baby follows a young woman who is trying to keep the different versions of herself in order when she runs into her sugar daddy and her ex-girlfriend at a shiva with her parents.
More films with Eddie Izzard and Judi Dench is something that the world needs. They starred together in Stephen Frears’ Victoria & Abdul in 2017 and now they reunite in the Andy Goddard-directed Six Minutes To Midnight which will be released by IFC Films in theaters and on demand starting today. Written by Izzard, Goddard and
The Brad Furman-directed crime thriller City of Lies has had quite a journey, but the Saban Films release finally hits theaters today before dropping on digital and on demand April 9. Based on the book, LAbyrinth, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Randall Sullivan and adapted by Christian Contreras, City of Lies follows the investigation into the infamous murder of
Are you ready for the weekend? Specifically, are you ready for a Long Weekend? Of course, we’re referring to the rom-com from Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions’ Stage 6 Films. Long Weekend will make its debut in theaters today and marks the feature directorial debut of Steve Basilone, who also wrote the script. The rom-com stars Finn Wittrock