From ‘Poor Things’ to ‘American Fiction,’ 2023 Gives the Specialized Platform Release Its Last, Best Shot

The 15 days between December 8 and 22 will see the theatrical debuts for “Poor Things,” “All of Us Strangers,” “American Fiction,” and “The Zone of Interest.” All are significant awards winners at top film festivals, all are potential Oscar Best Picture contenders — and all provide the opportunity for the biggest limited-run openings since 2019.

This was a year when the specialized audience added to the success of fellow awards contenders “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” but they didn’t do much to boost actual specialized films. December offers the chance to change that narrative for this year and those to come.

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December will also see the one-week qualifying run for Ava Duvernay’s “Origin” (Neon), and wide openings for Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” (Neon), Hiyao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” (GKids), “The Iron Claw” (A24), “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros.), and George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat” (Amazon MGM). These are films that once might have opted for platform releases. Limited openings include Wim Wenders’ 3D documentary “Anselm” (Janus) and Germany’s Oscar entry “The Teachers Lounge” (Sony Pictures Classics).

December platform releases used to be common, and often huge. In 2019, “Uncut Gems” had a per-theater average of $105,000 its first weekend on five screens. “1917” (opening midweek) had a $92,000 PTA (over 11 theaters). “Bombshell” did $80,000 in four.

Since then, the biggest December success was 2022’s “The Whale” ($55,000 PTA in six). This year saw only a handful of titles with PTAs over $50,000 — “Asteroid City” ($142,000 in six), “Beau Is Afraid” ($80,000 in four), and “Past Lives” ($58,000 in four) — but the results ranged from small-scale success (“Past Lives,” “Asteroid City”) to outright flops (“Beau Is Afraid”). The below average number of high-end platform numbers reflects the weakness in specialized, loss of key theaters in Los Angeles, and the trend of distributors taking their chances and going wider.

The logic for December platform strategy remains strong. It provides elevated attention just as awards season slips into gear. Strong grosses mean more positive press coverage and it allows for expansion beyond the holiday traffic and parallel to Oscar nominations.

Remaining “in the conversation” is critical for consideration, which theaters help deliver. Netflix barely released Todd Haynes’ acclaimed “May December” in theaters for two weeks ahead of its streaming premiere. It spent just four days among its top 10 movies.

This month’s four platform titles reflect nuanced, intelligent released strategies: They reflect opportunities as well as current realities.

Poor Things (Searchlight)

This is likely to provide the biggest initial pop. Yorgos Lanthimos’ feminist sci-fi comedy “Poor Things” with Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo debuts with nine theaters in four cities, with New York venues (AMC Lincoln Square, Regal Union Square, Alamo Brooklyn) getting significant boosts from Q&A events.

The three Los Angeles AMC theaters (Century City, Grove, Burbank) are the new normal, but two San Francisco dates (AMC Metreon and Alamo Mission) and Austin (Alamo South Lamar) are more unusual.

It’s a fairly conventional launch by pre-Covid standards. The larger number of playdates will affect the PTA, but it’s still likely to be excellent. Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” had an $105,000 PTA in four. December 15 will add 17 more cities, with up to 80 in the following week; a wider release is expected mid-January.

“American Fiction”

American Fiction (Amazon MGM)

This topical comedy won the often-predictive Peoples’ Choice Award at Toronto. The debut of director Cord Jefferson, it stars Jeffrey Wright as a serious novelist who finds success pretending to be what white publishers think readers think a Black writer should be.

This provocative and well-reviewed film is a bit more of a challenge, but word of mouth could propel it to strong initial grosses. It opens December 15 in seven theaters in Los Angeles, New York, and Austin.

Precedents include the topical “Bombshell” and Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk” ($56,000 PTA in four). It will expand a bit more slowly than “Poor Things” — 10 cities on December 22, 20 on January 5, followed by multi-hundred theater expansions over two weeks.

The Zone of Interest (A24)

Jonathan Glazer’s Cannes Grand Prize winner and International Film contender currently sits with the highest score (95) of any 2023 film on Metacritic. Its challenging story of how the family of an Auschwitz commandant strive for an idyllic life next door to genocide is reflected in a slow release of two theaters each in New York and LA on December 15, delaying further expansion until after the holidays.

The anomaly here is the single screen Vista in Los Angeles, a single-screen venue recently purchased and remodeled by Quentin Tarantino. The alternative was the AMC Grove, which will already have two platform titles along with wide studio releases.

All of Us Strangers (Searchlight)

The newest film from Andrew Haigh (“45 Years”) costars recent Best Actor nominee Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott as a couple whose relationship inspires otherworldly introspection. It’s also acclaimed, with a 91 Metacritic.

This has significant potential with careful nurturing, reviews, and awards attention. Opening December 22 with two theaters each in New York and Los Angeles, the only dates before next year, it should get a fair shot.

The oddball here is the Landmark Sunset, a central location that neighbors West Hollywood. Once a top platform site, it found success with “Asteroid City” early this year. With the Vista at the opposite end of Hollywood, these theaters might factor into future platform strategies.

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