'Brokeback' tries red-state breakout
Focus going for broke in expansion
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Focus brass said Monday that it will roll out "Brokeback" on 300-400 screens by Jan. 6, altering its original agenda of putting the film on 250 screens by Jan. 13.
That decision by Focus co-heads James Schamus and David Linde came after the Ang Lee-helmed pic -- starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as cowboys who spark a taboo romance while ranching together during the early '60s -- lassoed the No. 8 spot in the top 10 over the weekend from a scant 69 theaters.
Total cume is just under $3.5 million to date, and pic's final gross for its second frame was $2.5 million, with a per screen average of $36,455. That's even higher than Sunday-morning estimates that not only impressed industryites but drew national attention.
Move to broaden the pic's presence comes as "Brokeback" is riding a wave of critics' honors and media attention without its distributor having paid a single dollar in TV advertising for the $14 million pic.
Beyond any urban strongholds for gay auds, Focus is currently zeroing in on the very states where the pic takes place, Texas and Wyoming, as well as other turf where pundits might assume a gay-themed project would have a bumpy ride. But Schamus said that the film is playing to both male and female auds, proving it has branched out beyond purely gay demos in the fly-over states.
"The key for us is very specific," he said. "We know that once we get beyond the stereotype with this movie, there's an explosion of interest in the emotional experience because you've witnessed a great American love story."
He added that the decision to expand more quickly was based on audience reaction setting the pace and not the studio's desire to simply capture lightning in a bottle. "We are going very delicately and subtly," he said. "So many people get out ahead of themselves because they get excited and worry about leaving money on the table. But the expansion is a response to the avidity of the audience. We are taking a completely organic approach that's fundamentally likened to the emotional (experience) of the movie. We will never sell a phenomenon, or sell a piece of the zeitgeist."
On Sunday, the New York Times ran a piece in its Styles section on real-life gay cowboys in Wyoming, mentioning that no exhibs are showing the pic in that state. But any insinuation that the film has been shunned by exhibs is wrong -- Focus hadn't gone wide enough with it to include Wyoming yet but always planned to. And exhibs in that stare are eagerly booking "Brokeback."
The film has played well so far in unexpected places -- like Plano, Texas, where it's showing on two screens; Phoenix; and Voorhees, Penn., outside of Philadelphia -- without any resistance from exhibs.
"It's too soon for us, but we are following it closely," said Michael Patrick, CEO of Georgia-based regional exhib chain Carmike, of the phenomenon so far. "If it continues to gross anywhere near what it has, it will play with us."
A Fandango exec said that the ticket-ordering Web site is getting a significant number of emails from fans wondering why the pic isn't playing in their town -- a phenomenon that he said rarely occurs.
In order to break into markets with populations under 50,000, the typical profile for Carmike's theaters, "Brokeback" would have to hit around 2,000 playdates. That's a heady goal for an indie pic, not to mention that screens can become scarce this time of year.
With its early January expansion, Focus will aim to penetrate suburban markets surrounding Seattle, San Diego, Dallas and Portland before moving into more remote places like Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, by Jan. 30.
Focus has so far been testing the waters carefully with the film, not knowing what the climate may be like for such a project at the moment, and it is realizing the timing is right.
By comparison, it sent out another awards contender -- arty version of a John le Carre thriller "The Constant Gardener" -- on nearly 1,350 screens in early September. Its lit adaptation "Pride & Prejudice" went out on 215 screens Nov. 11 and has expanded to over 1,140 to date.
Pic will begin its international rollout with a U.K. bow, through Entertainment, on Dec. 30 and then will hit Italy, Germany, Spain and France, among other territories. It remains to be seen if "Brokeback" can rustle up global auds the way it has so far at home.
(Ben Fritz in Hollywood contributed to this report.)
