EXCLUSIVE: Good news, movie theaters.
Open Road Films’ Liam Neeson action-thriller Honest Thief, which was set to go wide, is going really wide now at 2,000 theaters. However, you’ll have to wait a week later than anticipated. The movie from Ozark co-creator and producer Mark Williams, which was set to open on Oct. 9 will now go on Oct. 16. This leaves 101 Studios’ War With Grandpa on Oct. 9, and puts Honest Thief and Entertainment Studios’ 2 Hearts as the prime wide entries for Oct. 16.
Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg said the move was made “in anticipation of additional theatres opening in the next few weeks and the opportunity to use the extra time to present Honest Thief to audiences in Premium Formats such as 4DX and Dolby Atmos. We look forward to a terrific opening weekend and a long run in theatres in partnership with our good friends in exhibition.”
In Honest Thief, Neeson stars as a bank robber who tries to turn himself in after falling for a woman (Kate Walsh) who works at the storage facility where he’s stashed his money. Complications ensue when his case is turned over to a corrupt FBI agent (Jai Courtney) and he must go underground to save both himself and the woman he loves.
Reasonable budget action fare aimed at older guys is truly finding a way at the box office during this pandemic in which only 70% of all movie theaters are open (and New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco proper is still closed).Solstice Studios’ Russell Crowe road rage movie, which only cost $30M, is on its way to make $20M stateside in the next two weeks. The pic has also cleared $12M abroad according to Box Office Mojo. We hear that this coming weekend, nearby San Fran areas San Mateo, Oakland and Berkeley are set to come back online.
Deadline exclusively reported the relaunch of Open Road under founder Ortenberg as well as their U.S. acquisition of Voltage’s YA sequel After We Collided which is set for a theatrical-PVOD day-and-date release of Oct. 23; that movie recently clearing over $1M in Canada last weekend.