Films from Belfast to Drive My Car, from The Worst Person In The World to Nightmare Alley saw ticket sales pop after Academy Award nominations and as distributors kick into high gear for this weekend and beyond, juggling theater counts and ramped up media campaigns that now have a shiny new imprimatur.For Neon’s The Worst Person Person In The World, “TV, digital, radio, print all kick into high gear as a consumer facing academy campaign, highlighting the film’s double Oscar nomination, some of the best reviews of the year and buzzy, strong word of mouth, ” said distribution chief Elissa Federoff. “It’s always a gamble to open this late in the Oscar season, but when it works, it really works.” The Joachim Trier Best International Feature nominated film from Norway in week 2.New specialty releases this weekend — Johnny Depp-starrer Minamata from Samuel Goldwyn, The Sky Is Everywhere from Apple and A24, Magnolia’s Indemnity and IFC’s Catch The Fair One among other (details below) — will be vying for space in a crowded arena for the near future.Among Best Picture nominees, Searchlight’s Nightmare Alley jumped 83% from Monday to Tuesday.
Belfast from Focus doubled grosses in a day, as did Janus/Sideshow’s Drive My Car – which was up another 50% on Wednesday and passed the $1 million mark Thursday.
Neon saw bumps for International Feature nominees The Worst Person In The World and Flee, which is also up for Best Documentary.Belfast, which went from $22,00 to $44,000 in 390 theaters is moving to 927 this weekend. “Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll have ebbs and flows,” said Focus distribution chief Lisa Bunnell. “When The Batman opens [March 4] everyone will lose screens and you’ll go down to your core arthouse theaters.
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