I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell

The movies opens September 25th, which is this Friday. Usually when a movie opens, it comes out on somewhere between 1000 and 3000 screens, all across the country. That is called a “wide” opening.

We are not doing that, we are doing what is called a “platform” or “limited” release. This means is that we open on a small number of screens the first weekend, then more the second, then if the movie does well, we go “wide” the third week and will be thousands of screens.

Here is our release plan:

Week 1 (Fri Sept 25 – Th Oct 1): 125 screens in about 85 cities
Week 2 (Fri Oct 2 – Th Oct 8): 300 screens in about 125 cities
Week 3 (Fri Oct 9 – onward): 2000+ screens covering every city

Why are we doing this?:
Two reasons:

1. Helps us build word of mouth: I have believed since day one we have a great movie that people will love, and the way to market great movies is to do it through word of mouth. Put it in front of people, let them see it, and have them tell their friends how much they liked it. That’s why we did the premiere tour. There is no better way to market quality, and by starting with a smaller release, it allows word of mouth to build and develop. This strategy has worked great with movies like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Juno.”

2. Money: I have written about this before, but we are doing something very risky, but very remarkable if we pull it off: We are self-distributing this movie. We don’t have a studio paying for everything (and thus taking all the profits), which means we have to raise all the money necessary to book theaters, make prints, and pay for advertising, and that is very expensive. Just to give you an idea of what we’re working with, “The Hangover” had a pre-release P&A spend of 40 million. We have about 5 million. Quite frankly, we can’t afford to do a 2000 screen release off the bat, that would require money we don’t have. If the movie does well in it’s first weekend (which I fully expect), then raising more money to finance the wide release is easy; if not, then it will be very hard.

What theaters is the movie in THIS weekend?
I am going to have the full theater list for you by WEDNESDAY, but right now, here is the list of theaters where you can buy tickets online for either a Thursday midnight show or Friday tickets:

Ann Arbor – Showcase Cinemas Ann Arbor

Baton Rouge – Rave Motion Pictures Mall of Louisiana 15

Chicago – AMC Randhurst 16

Chicago – AMC South Barrington 30

Chicago – Marcus Gurnee Cinemas

Chicago – AMC Loews 600 North Michigan

Schaumberg, IL – AMC Loews Theatres at Streets of Woodfield

Woodridge, IL – AMC Loews Woodridge 18

Addison, IL Marcus Addison Cinemas

Rosemont, IL – Muvico Rosemont 18

Warrenville, IL – AMC Cantera 30

Columbia, MO – Hollywood Theaters Stadium 14

Columbus, OH – AMC Lennox Town Center 24

Dallas – AMC The Parks at Arlington 18

Iowa City, IA – Marcus Sycamore Cinema 12

Los Angeles – AMC Burbank 16

Lincoln, NE – Marcus Lincoln Grand

Madison – Marcus Point UltraScreen Cinema

Miami – AMC Sunset Place 24

New York – AMC Empire 25

Norman, OK – Hollywood Theaters – Spotlight 14

Orlando, FL – AMC Loews Universal Cineplex 20

Providence – Providence Place Cinemas 16 & IMAX

Raleigh, NC – Carolina Cinemas Raleigh Grande 16

Seattle – Landmark Metro Cinemas

Seattle – AMC Loews Alderwood Mall 16

Tallahassee, FL – AMC Tallahassee Mall 20

Tempe, AZ – Harkins Tempe Marketplace 16

Here are some more of the cities/theaters we are booked in, but I can’t find online ticketing for right now:

Albany, NY
Crossgates Cinemas 18

Boston, MA
Boston Commons 19

Providence, RI
Providence Place 16

Cheektowaga, NY
Waden Galleria Stadium 16

New York, NY
Empire 25 Theaters

Philadelphia, PA
Riverview Plaza 17

Bethlehem, PA
Saucon Valley Cinemas 10

West Homestead, PA
Waterfront 22

State College, PA
Premiere College 9 Cinemas

Hyattsville, MD
Royale 14

Charlottesville, VA
Carmike Six

Christiansburg, VA
New River Valley Stadium 14

Harrisonburg, VA
Harrisonburg 14

Chicago Chicago, IL
600 North Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL
Webster Place 11

Evanston, IL
Century Evanston 12

Skokie, IL
Village Crossing 18

Rosemont, IL
Rosemont 18

Mt. Prospect, IL
Randhurst 16

Schaumburg, IL
Woodfield 20

Lincolnshire, IL
Lincolnshire 20

South Barrington, IL
South Barrington 30

Lombard, IL
Yorktown 17

Hodgkins, IL
Quarry Cinemas 14

Addison, IL
Addison Cinemas 21

Woodridge, IL
Loews Woodridge 18

Country Club Hills, IL
The Country Club Hills 16

Schererville, IN
Showplace 16

Crestwood, IL
Crestwood Theatre 18

Round Lake Beach, IL
Round Lake Beach 18

Vernon Hills, IL
Rivertree Court Theatre

Portage, IN
Portage 16

St. Charles, IL
Charlestown 18

Batavia, IL
Randall 16

Naperville, IL
Showplace 16

Warrenville, IL
Cantera 30

Bolingbrook, IL
Showplace 12

Gurnee, IL
Gurnee Mills 20

Carpentersville, IL
Cinema 12 Theatre

Lake in the Hills, IL
Lake in the Hills 12

Crystal Lake, IL
Showplace 16

New Lenox, IL
Showplace 14

Champaign, IL
Beverly Cinemas 18

Savoy, IL
Savoy 16

Columbus, OH
Lennox 24

Columbus, OH
Easton Towne Center 30

Columbus, OH
Gateway 8

Athens, OH
Athena Grand 11

Louisville, KY
Baxter Avenue 8

Iowa City, IA
Sycamore 12

Lincoln, NE
Grand Cinema 14

Ann Arbor, MI
Quality 16

Ypsilanti, MI
Showcase Cinemas Ann Arbor 20

Lansing, MI
Celebration Cinema 19

Lansing, MI
NCG Eastwood Cinema 18

Bloomington, IN
Showplace West 12

Lafayette, IN
Eastside 10

Lawrence, KS
Southwind 12

Columbia, MO
Hollywood Stadium 14

Madison, WI
Point Cinemas 16

Fitchburg, WI
Kerasotes Star 18 and IMAX

Minneapolis, MN
Crown Theatre 15 at Block E

St. Louis, MO
Ronnie’s 20

Carbondale, IL
University Place 8

Chamblee, GA
Hollywood 24@ N. I-85

Atlanta, GA
Atlantic Station Stadium 16

Athens, GA
Carmike 12

Knoxville, TN
Pinnacle Stadium 18

Nashville, TN
Green Hills 16

Albany, GA
Wynnsong 16

Auburn, AL
Wynnsong 16

Tuscaloosa, AL
Hollywood 16 Cinemas

Charlotte, NC
Stonecrest @ Piper Glen 22

Raleigh Grand 16

Durham, NC
Southpoint Cinemas 16

Columbia, SC
Columbiana Grande 14

Dallas, TX
Keystone Park Theatre 16

Arlington, TX
AMC Parks @ Arlington 18

Houston, TX
Greenway Grand Palace Stadium 24 Cinemas

Houston, TX
Studio 30 Theatres – Houston

Austin, TX
Dobie Theatre

Austin, TX
Gateway 16

Miami Beach, FL
South Beach 18

South Miami, FL
Sunset Place 24 Theatres

Orlando, FL
Universal Cineplex 20

Orlando, FL
Waterford Lakes 20

Tampa, FL
Veterans Expressway 24

Gainesville, FL
Gainesville Cinema 14

Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee Mall 20

Baton Rouge, LA
Mall of Louisiana 15

Norman, OK
Spotlight 14

Stillwater, OK
Carmike 10

Boulder, CO
Century 16

Burbank, CA
Burbank 16

Irvine, CA
Irvine Spectrum 21 Megaplex Cinemas

San Diego, CA
Gaslamp All Stadium 15

San Diego, CA
Mission Valley 20

Santa Barbara, CA
Fiesta 5

Tempe, AZ
Tempe Marketplace 16

Eugene, OR
Valley River Center Stadium 15

Seattle, WA
Meridian 16

Seattle, WA
Metro Cinemas

Lynnwood, WA
Alderwood 16

Berkeley, CA
Shattuck Cinemas 10

PLEASE DO NOT write me and ask about your city–this is a VERY incomplete list. I still have more cities to add to this post and the links to online ticketing.

I will have the complete list up by Wednesday (assuming Freestyle gets it to me in time).

And seriously: STOP ASKING ABOUT FOREIGN RELEASE. We sold the foreign rights to foreign distributors. They release it when they want. We have NOTHING to do with it. That’s the way film works: Foreign distributors control foreign release dates.