Neon is opening Origin on 130 screens and plans to expand the Ava DuVernay film, which premiered in Venice and had a excellent qualifying run in December.
Neon took global rights on Origin before its Venice premiere where it received an eight-minute standing ovation and DuVernay became the first Black American woman to have a selection there.
Deadline reported the film tested well with audiences, landing a 91 total positive in the top two boxes, with an 81 definite recommend, the highest for both Neon and DuVernay.
With the theatrical release, the distributor is looking to pull in the arthouse and “smarthouse” (mainstream crossover) audiences and Black audiences with targeted bookings including theaters in regional markets like Atlanta, Chicago and Baltimore.
Read more on deadline.com