New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Hitting all the right notes

Kim Hollis: Universal chose to do a platform release for Pitch Perfect, debuting the film in only 335 locations in advance of its planned wide release next weekend. It earned $5.1 million and garnered a $15,371 venue average. Why was this strategy so successful? What are your expectations for the movie moving forward?

Jason Barney: It appears to have been very smart by the studio. The per venue count was the best in the top 10, and earning $5 million to only 335 theaters is pretty impressive. I have not seen it yet, but these numbers seem to indicate that the soft spell is over for the box office. With Hotel Transylvania doing so well this weekend and Looper in line for some impressive holds, you wonder just how far word-of-mouth will propel this one.

From a different perspective, the folks at Universal have to be happy they did something right, aside from Ted. Their recent track record has been pretty awful going back to the summer, and you have to wonder what sort of shape the studio was in. The Five Year Engagement didn't make back the $30 million budget domestically. It had to rely on foreign box office for earnings, but even they were not that strong. Then they had Battleship with a $209 million budget, which only earned $65 million stateside. The international revenue was much better, but you have to think they left a lot of money on the table with that one. Even Snow White and the Huntsman didn't match its $170 million budget domestically. Overseas results were better for that film, and Ted was a hit. Savages underperformed. The Bourne Legacy didn't bomb, but did not meet expectations, either.

So with only one real hit, Ted, in their recent track record, folks at Universal have to be breathing sigh of relief with this one.

Edwin Davies: They cut some solid, funny trailers that made it look like a fun film, then emphasised the idea that they were releasing it early almost as a kind of treat for audiences. It's a simple idea but an effective one with much the same thinking behind it as that behind "limited engagement" releases like The Lion King re-issue. You raise awareness whilst also limiting availability, so if people see that the film is playing near them they feel more inclined to check it out because it feels sort of special.

As far as the film's future goes, I don't know if it will do anything more impressive than this weekend's result. I would imagine that a healthy chunk of the potential audience will have tried to check it out over the last three days, and unless word-of-mouth is spectacular I don't think its nationwide expansion will be too spectacular. However, this result allows it to be part of the news cycle and will help drum up more interest than would have existed if it had been released normally, so it might help drive a little extra business down the road.

Tim Briody: This is pretty great for something I wasn't familiar with at all until Saturday. I would like to see this type of release more in the future. Wednesday releases, for the most part, are stupid. A smaller release a week in advance is kind of a brilliant idea. Let the free advertising that is social networking do the work for you by building buzz, and have it pay off in spades with a true wide release the following weekend.

Felix Quinonez: I think when it comes down to it, they put out some funny trailers and have done a great job with the marketing. As far as moving forward I think it has some great prospects and could turn into a pretty decent hit. I think it already had some buzz going and this great opening in limited release will only raise audience awareness and interest. Plus it has a $17 million budget, so this will definitely be a win.

David Mumpower: As was mentioned in the Weekend Wrap-Up, this is the next kind of movie marketing. Platform releases have been a popular strategy for smaller films. In the social media era, utilizing the same tactic with planned wide releases in order to heighten demand is a clever ploy. The aspect that amuses me is that with $5.1 million, this Glee wannabe earned almost as much in 335 locations as the Glee concert movie managed in 2,040. It debuted to only $5.9 million despite having over six times as many exhibitions.

Continued:       1       2