Thanks Cecile.
tree of life
ToL Opening weekend
Fox Searchlight’s recent Cannes Film Festival Palme D’Or winner The Tree Of Life from filmmaker Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain, broke records this weekend with every prime and evening show sold out in all locations (2 in NY and 2 in LA). It grossed grossed $352,320, with a theater average of $88,080. This will be the highest opening average of any Fox Searchlight film — even ahead of Black Swan’s $80,000 per theatre. The grosses are even more impressive when you consider the film is 2½ hours long (and therefore gets significantly fewer showings). Playing in the Arclight in Hollywood, the Landmark in West LA, as well as the Lincoln Plaza and the Sunshine in New York, the film had a very traditional art house roll out. Next weekend, it will open in exclusive engagements in an additional 8 cities while adding just 3 additional theaters in both New York and Los Angeles. Expansions are planned and booked for the succeeding four weeks when the film will reach its national release on July 1. Malick’s signature imagery and complex storyline in this fifth film earned a 92% rating on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. But its rollout indicated more interest than just cinephiles.
Read more/discuss. Thanks Gabriella.
Brad goin to Manila FF?
In other news, producer Wilson Yuloque of local film company Pioneer Films hinted at the possibility of award-winning Hollywood actor Brad Pitt visiting Philippines soon to promote his 2011 drama film, “The Tree of Life.” Pitt both starred in and produced the said movie, while Pioneer Films is its local distributor.
“We can invite him to come here for the festival. He’s the producer so he’s excited and he wants more people to see the movie,” Yuloque told GMA News on Tuesday, referring to this month’s 16th French Film Festival where he said the movie will be screened as the closing film.
The Festival will have its run at Shangri-la Plaza Mall from June 8 to 19; at Ayala Center Cebu from June 23 to 25; and at the UP Film Institute in Quezon City from June 28 to July 2. However, the film is yet unlisted in the 2011 festival line-up released by FrancoPhil, Embassy of Ftrance in the Philippines and Alliance Francaise de Manille during the media screening on May 31.
