"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" has attracted abundant film festival awards and critical raves, including enthusiastic endorsements from talk-show host Oprah Winfrey and filmmaker Tyler Perry.
Now it's time to see what that's all worth.
The stark drama about a sexually abused teenager premieres Friday, and Lionsgate is hoping to convert the film's early support into ticket sales during a time when audiences are steering clear of serious subject matter.
For "Precious" to succeed at the box office, it must appeal to two divergent audiences simultaneously. But can the film become a must-see for black audiences across the nation and an art-house stop for upscale, metropolitan moviegoers? And by trying to do so, does it risk appealing to neither?
Lionsgate has booked "Precious" into four demographically distinct local theaters, and the selection speaks volumes to the studio's aspirations: West Los Angeles' the Landmark (primarily a home for highbrow fare), Hollywood's ArcLight (where art and commercial films coexist), Westchester's the Bridge: Cinema de Lux (a multiethnic destination for mass-appeal titles) and South Los Angeles' Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 (one of the top-grossing theaters for African American patrons).
Come Monday, Lionsgate will review how director Lee Daniels' film played in those theaters (coupled with a look at its performance in similarly targeted bookings in New York, Chicago and Atlanta) to see where the greatest interest resides. If all goes as well as can be imagined, the film's theatrical expansion could build as surely as its Oscar chances.
"Precious" is looking to prove skeptics wrong. With moviegoers struggling to make ends meet and seeking escapism, movies as serious as "Precious" have struggled to sell tickets. The trickier the topic, the more difficult the task: Despite glowing reviews, neither "The Cove" (dolphin slaughter) nor "Amreeka" (ethnic assimilation) did much business, as audiences flocked to forget-your-cares titles such as "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Fast & Furious."
Adapted by Geoffrey Fletcher from a novel about an illiterate black teen from Harlem whose father has raped and impregnated her twice, "Precious" is scarcely a typical feel-good story. But no matter what horrors the title character suffers from her abusive father or almost equally destructive mother (Mo'Nique), Precious (newcomer Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe) remains determined to escape her predicament, aided by a sympathetic social worker (Mariah Carey) and an idealistic teacher (Paula Patton).
