20th Century Studios
The Sam Raimi-directed dark comedy/survival thriller “Send Help” is looking to conquer the box-office once again.
The title is on track to hold the top spot for a second weekend and grossed $34 million in its first week – not bad for a $40 million budget film.
Turns out, though, that the 20th Century Studios title was originally set up at Sony Pictures, not a huge surprise, as Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures production company has primarily released titles through them. So why isn’t Sony releasing this one?
The Wrap reports that in the wake of COVID, Sony began eyeing a potential streaming premiere for the film which is when Raimi put his foot down, picked up his movie and took it to 20th Century Studios. Raimi tells the outlet:
“The studio, at the time, said, ‘We can’t make this as a theatrical film. We could make it as a lower-budget, controlled streaming film’. I don’t mean to be a snob, but I’m designing this as an audience experience.
I wanted the interaction of the theater to make it work, because I know that flavor, and I need that. I design my movies to play upon the audience in the theater. I really do. I think it’s a different approach you take.”
Sony itself is coming off a rough run – they sent “KPop Demon Hunters” direct-to-streaming, where it became a smash success but was seen as having left money on the table. Several recent cinema releases have either underperformed or flopped, even ones with critical acclaim like “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” though the studio does have a guaranteed hit with a new “Spider-Man” this Summer.