LOS ANGELES – Dotting the Sunset Strip are signs of a bygone era: colorful billboards for movies that should be released during the summer block season, only to be pushed back to September and beyond.
The Covid-19 pandemic, which closed theaters around the world, devastated on the premiere dates of wild megahits such as “Tenet” and “Wonder Woman 1984″, as well as other films with more fashionable ambitions in the office, such as ” Unhinged, ”a funny action movie starring Russell Crowe.
But unlike dozens of other films, “Unhinged” will indeed have a theatrical release in the United States this summer, indicating a return to business for Hollywood.
The original plan was for a premiere on July 1st. The date was pushed back twice before the film appeared on Friday in more than 1,800 theaters in the United States and Canada, a release that came largely due to the idiosyncrasies of Mark Gill, an independent film producer who on was getting to the big screen.
“Unhinged” will be the largest new offering in North American theaters this weekend, with 26 percent of theaters in the United States and Canada scheduled to open, according to the National Association of Theater Owners, a trade association. Another new movie, the teen drama “Becoming on Bathroom Walls,” from Roadside Attractions, is this second-biggest release this weekend, appearing on some 900 screens.
While other Hollywood executives decided they had no choice but to reorganize, Mr. Gill a priority of defeating the competition to theaters. “There is no question that the ‘first-mover’ advantage has been a big deal,” he said.
He believes in the film – a throwback to the thrillers of decades ago that sent Charles Bronson into scenery-trampling mode – but said he could not predict how many filmgoers would appear this weekend, when theaters in full safety restrictions have increased.
“They’re all bananas,” Mr Gill said. ‘That’s the crazy thing. I have no idea.”
“Unhinged” has already been released outside the United States. In the homeland of Mr. Crowe, Australia, was the No. 1 location office three weeks in a row, earning $ 1.7 million, and it has done well in Germany and Britain. Last weekend it started with its run in Canada, appearing in almost 300 theaters.
That being said, it has raised roughly $ 8 million in global revenue. To make a profit, Mr. Gill said, the film must receive $ 30 million gross from North American audiences.
Even before he decided to press for a theatrical release during a pandemic, Mr. Gill showed a contrarian streak among his Hollywood peers. While other producers were working on the rise of Netflix and other streaming platforms, he started a production house, Solstice Studios, dedicated to making medium-budget, action-packed movies with large-screen audiences.
“For 10 years people have been telling me that these movies are dead,” Mr Gill said. “And for 10 years I have done well with them.”
He was the producer of an old-fashioned box office success, “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” a 2017 thriller starring Ryan Reynolds. It cost $ 43 million worldwide to make and earn $ 176 million. And he drew the same trick with the franchise “Olympus Has Fallen”, a trio of action movies starring Gerard Butler. Each had a production budget under $ 50 million and earned at least $ 140 million in theaters.
“Unhinged,” which shows that Mr. Crowe a tear goes after an incident in the road rage, is in the same mold. The topic may not sound like escapist fare, but Mr Gill said his research suggested that audiences were hungry for this kind of thing.
“It’s ridiculous how strong our tracking is,” he said. ‘I think people want lollipops and rainbows. Turns out I was wrong. ”
If more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths occur in the United States each day, a high rise for “Unhinged” could well mean the much-anticipated “Tenet.” Warner Bros., the studio behind that film, has arranged for a release date in the United States and a September 4 premiere in China, after the premiere date was repeated by pushing back all summer.
Mr. Gill started Solstice Studios nearly two years ago with brand strategist Vincent Bruzzese and two fellow producers, Andrew Gunn and Guy Botham. The plan was simple: Make audience-friendly films for anywhere between $ 30 million and $ 80 million, a range left only by big studios destined for the next mega-blockbuster, and bring those films to theaters.
Because they went against the trend towards streaming, they had a hard time raising money. Mr. Gill said he had more than 600 potential patrons living to find two who were willing to set up important money: Ingenious Media, a division of a London equity fund, and a private investor.
“I heard many times that I was crazy,” said Mr. Gill.
He said he tried to persuade filmmakers to work with his studio instead of taking their projects to digital companies by telling them that their work would not be lost in the streaming shuffle.
He said his pitch went something like this: “There are a few movies on the stream that get tremendous attention, an ad budget, etc. Can you name five of them? No one can ever do that. Netflix made it last year 82 movies. I hope you’re one of the three or five people can name. ‘
Before the pandemic, Hollywood had already shifted much of its focus to streaming and home viewing, a trend that has only accelerated in recent months. With theaters closed, films that went to the big screen, including “Trolls: World Tour” and “The King of Staten Island,” were premiered on streaming platforms.
In another sign of the shift, Universal Pictures reached an agreement last month with the world’s largest theater chain, AMC Entertainment, to make its films available for streaming three weeks after its theatrical debut. Under the old system, films are played exclusively in theaters for 90 days.
Mr Gill is of the opinion that a significant number of film fans are continuing the traditional film-going experience.
“One of the most interesting pieces I’ve seen is that a lot of people are realizing that they actually want to go out,” he said. “My favorite comment was, ‘The two dirtiest words in the English language are’ my bank. ‘ ‘”
