Destroyer (2018)

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by Aclea

They probably wouldn't have put it in a prime Oscar consideration release date if they didn't care about it, nor dig deep to outbid Amazon for it. But with low budget indies - especially female-led ones - it's hard to get the mainstream media to give you much coverage. Indie distribution is a real constant uphill battle against indifference from the media, theater chains and audiences alike.

There's an audience for a limited number of smaller movies, but it's fickle. Even a feelgood critical favorite like Stan and Ollie couldn't find a US audience or any awards traction (the reviled Holmes and Watson made six times as much Stateside), and that's a much more audience friendly proposition than a downer like Destroyer. On the Basis of Sex and They Shall Not Grow Old were the closest things to breakouts in December.

It has to do with the studio not paying to promote the Oscar push - that is an expensive thing to do. I say that because I remember reading something where they asked why Boots Riley didn't push to have Sorry To Bother You (my favorite film of 2018, btw) and he said that the there was no money to do so, so he just went to the parties for the free food and drinks.

I'm thinking AnnaPurna didn't have the funds to push for Destroyer.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

I'm thinking AnnaPurna didn't have the funds to push for Destroyer.

i doubt it would have made the slightest difference if they had.

[Aclea]

As noted earlier, Megan Ellison is not exactly short of a few bucks, and Destroyer was given a FYC push with the Academy membership - Kidman was pretty much everywhere pitching - it simply didn't pay off.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I get that, but I still think releasing Destroyer along with Vice and the expansion of Beale Street on Christmas Day, did more harm for them than good.

Sometimes the decision comes down to when the talent is free to promote the film. A lot of actors will leave that November-December period free to really push the Oscar qualifying run if they think they're in with a chance of a nomination. And sometimes with pickups the deciding factor on which bidder wins is which one commits to the release date and FYC campaign the producers want. I'm sure if they'd opened it earlier or later people would be saying they dumped it by not giving it a prime award season slot. The film is pretty much an impossible sell that none of its worldwide distributors could make work. People always look for someone to blame when a film they like flops - the marketing and theater count are the usual default scapegoats while the studio or distributor that loses everything they spent on the film is eviscerated for not pulling off a box-office miracle - but sometimes films have such limited audience potential just getting them out there is the best you can hope for.

[cheez avenger]

Destroyer got a local-centric release out here. Kidman and the director and writers basically did a 2-3 week residency (with Q&A's, interviews, etc.) at the Hollywood ArcLight, so I guess they wanted to go with a more local grassroots promotion - also, the film takes place in southern California.

[Aclea]

That's probably down to LA having the largest concentration of Academy voters and trying to keep it on their radar during the nomination period.