Moviegoers nightmare: Dreamgirls not showing here until Jan. 12

By Leslie Williams-Dennis and Mike Moody

The Brownsville Herald

January 3, 2007 Jean Lovejoy didnt get her Christmas wish.

Like many local film buffs, the Brownsville resident hoped to catch the new film Dreamgirls on Dec. 25. She was disappointed to learn that the film, released nationally on Dec. 22, was not showing here.

I had already told some of my girlfriends in Florida, I dont care if its only in Corpus Christi, my husbands taking me to Corpus Christi, Lovejoy said.

The film was not playing in Corpus Christi either and has yet to hit local theatres, despite grossing more than $38 million at the U.S. box-office, topping critics year-end lists and boasting a cast of A-list stars including Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx.

Dreamgirls, a Golden Globe-nominated musical about the rise of a Supremes-like pop group, wont show at Brownsvilles Cinemark Sunrise Mall until Jan. 12.

This isnt the first disappointment for Lovejoy and other local movie lovers who find that when it comes to popular and critically acclaimed films, they have to wait to see it sometimes until the film is released on DVD.

Virginia Aguilar, manager of Cinemark Theaters in Brownsville, said that only 900 prints of Dreamgirls were made and that, like many other movies, larger cities got first priority.

Aguilar said many moviegoers have inquired about the film but its the film distributors, not theater managers, that decide when and where films are released.

Film distributors are private companies that work as liaisons between film studios and theaters. The decision not to releases a certain film in a certain market comes down to simple economics, said Mark Urman, head of theatrical distribution for ThinkFilm, an independent film distribution company based in New York.

There are a number of factors that go into the decision of how broadly a film gets distributed and financial performance is as key as any other decision, Urman said.

Brownsville theaters rarely screen independent films, which are usually the most critically acclaimed. The city has yet to see the release of some of the best reviewed films of 2006, including the independent features Pans Labryinth, Children of Men and ThinkFilms Half Nelson.

Opening a film is a costly undertaking for a distributor, Urman said. The cost to create and ship a single print of one film is in the thousands of dollars. A distributor generally will not ship an edgy independent feature to a non-metropolitan market like Brownsville because of the assumption that it wont perform well.

We have films that break records in metropolitan areas that for some reason do not do that kind of business in suburban situations, Urman said. You really need to know that there are customers out there.

Film distributors arent the only parties that determine placement of a film.

You need a theater that is going to be receptive to your kind of movie, Urman said.

ThinkFilm and other independent distributors do market to chains like Cinemark, Urman said, but the chains arent always receptive to certain films, especially the independents.

Im faced with the decision of how far should I be pushing this film and the decision will be based on economic caution, Urman said. Many theaters are not particularly interested in a sophisticated, critic driven, art house type of movie.

Half Nelson, an inner-city drama about a young, drug-addicted schoolteacher, is one of ThinkFilms most critically and financially successful films of 2006. ThinkFilm has pushed the film in numerous markets, but most likely it will not play in Brownsville, Urman said.

Dreamgirls has proven to have box-office muscle and will be in almost every market by mid January.

McAllens Cine El Rey, the Rio Grande Valleys only art house theater, occasionally screens low-budget, independent films. The theater only has one screen and can only show a limited number of films a year.

Urman encourages Brownsville residents to catch up with some of the best-reviewed films of 2006 on DVD. Half Nelson hits video stores later this month.

Now is the moment where Brownsville residents can see it on DVD. They know about it and theyll say, Hey I heard wonderful things about that movie, he said. DVD is every bit as good for me and for the filmmakers whos sole goal is to have the film seen by as many people as possible.

Locals like Rancho Viejo resident Evelyn Cameron are looking forward to the Brownsville release of Dreamgirls.

Its an inspiration to see people who pursue their dreams in a world thats full of roadblocks especially for women in the entertainment industry, Cameron said about the film. Dreams are still attainable even in 2007.

mmoody@brownsvilleherald.com

ldennis@brownsvilleherald.com