It does not premiere at one film festival, it did not open in a platform edition, and yet Celine songS “Materialists“Is quickly one of the larger ones This year’s specialized cash office success stories. This is because in many ways it is not a specialized film at all.
With an estimated $ 12 million on the domestic Cash office During its opening weekend, “Materialists” is now the third largest opening for one A24 Film ever, behind only “civil war” ($ 25.5 million) and “hereditary” ($ 13.5 million).
The forecasts placed it between $ 7-8 million last week, so that it would end # 3 before “Mission: Impossible” and “Ballerina” is a huge performance. It did so from just over 2,800 screens, which are in the ball park for some other A24 -wide editions. It also continues a number of solid successes for A24, all for original films, which include “Warfare”, “Friendship” and “bring her back” all this summer (less for “Death of a Unicorn” and “The Legend of andi”).
But placing “materialists” in theaters was like playing matchmaker, with A24 that needed to thread a needle between a core audience who wants to see the latest movie from “Previous Life” director With the broader driven audience who just wants to see a love triangle between movie stars such as Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. The distributor knew that the film’s premise and star -ready could play for a more commercial audience, but it did not want to promote the audience who helped “past life” to earn $ 42.6 million all over the world (only $ 11.3 million of it came domestic, as “materialists” have already struck).
It is surprising considering that so much of the discourse around “materialists” is in how it mixes genres and undermines certain expectations. Indieview alone had debates that the film is not a rom-com without a removal of themso The end does not mean what you think it doesand maybe we are just Everything talks about everything wrong. Marketing this film was not a simple task, and the film’s disappointing B-Cinemascore speaks to the frustration that some audiences feel with the song’s turns and surprises.
A24 had its share of marketing activations that would feel more at home for a large studio edition, for example cards take over the New York Stock Exchange sign To show rising and falling “romantic values” for single men who are looking for love that all submitted their attributes, turns and even wages on a website. But in addition to some viral moments from Johnson and the rest of the role, Song himself was a prominent aspect of the marketing campaign, even generated her own viral moment after she told New Yorker it “Zootopia” would be finel Film She would like to look at in a theater.
For the audience in New York and LA, where the film over -indexed, Song was the best driver for people to the theater, not necessarily the role. As with many other A24 titles, “materialists” thrive because it put their creators forward and mine, and events by the director in the way universal knew to make Christopher Nolan “Oppenheimer” even more than any of its movie stars.
Contrast it with Neon’s “The Life of Chuck”, which had an overwhelming ninth place with only $ 2.1 million for the weekend. That film also mixes genres in a way that made it difficult to market, it has a starry role that was front and center for all its marketing, and it was also released this weekend (but on just under 1100 screens). One can argue that its director, Mike Flanagan, has not been as front and in the middle of the press, and that is why “The Life of Chuck” could very easily find a second life on streaming, where Flanagan’s biggest hits have been and where the audience could more easily discover it.
A24 is hopeful that the film will have a long run with Song’s core audience that creates a good footprint for weeks to come. But whether some of its other future editions will be as wide by a roll -out as “materialists”, you can invest in A24 learning from the release strategy and will position directors such as Ari Aster and Benny Safdie for “Eddington” and “The Smashing Mashing Machine” as much as it will be to make Joaquin Phoaenhhoh and Not unlike “sinners” earlier this year, the audience wants original films with commercial appeals, but it helps when AUTEURS IS AT HANDS TO SELL IT TO THEM.
