Second coming of 'Conquest'
Union Station re-releasing Mexican epic
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Warner Bros. is releasing "Lucky You," a romancer with Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana. And, reflecting the growing demand for Spanish-language pics, Union Station Media will re-release Mexican epic "The Other Conquest" on 50 prints in the U.S. on Cinco de Mayo weekend -- seven years after its initial release.
"We think the Hispanic market has developed enough to justify going out again," says Union Station topper Paul Gardner, who began hatching the idea after meeting producer Alvaro Domingo a year ago at the Tribeca fest.
Pic, which follows the struggle of an Aztec emperor's son to preserve his people's religious and cultural identity in the wake of the invasion by Spanish conquerors and clergymen, generated $1 million in Southern California and another $2 million in Mexico during its original release. It's never been released on DVD.
For the theatrical reissue, Union Station -- a joint distribution venture between Canada's Alliance Atlantis and Australia's Arclight Films -- has set initial runs in Northern California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas and launched a grassroots marketing effort aiming for the arthouse set and churchgoers.
"It's a two-pronged and two-language campaign," says Gardner.
Initial response will determine how wide the pic goes subsequently.
There's no plan to re-release the pic in Southern California, where it played at 75 venues at its widest release in 2000.
"But I'd never say never," says Gardner.
