Jack, no match for Salt
Nadia Tass’ new film Matching Jack (Twentieth Century Fox) opened at number eight in Australia, but still struggled to match the results expected from a wide release, earning $258,011 on 186 screens (average $1,387).
Last week Fox CEO Marc Wooldridge told Encore that “it’s been a while since we released a local movie – I’m excluding Australia. We have a clear point of view in terms of how to sell Matching Jack and who to sell it to, and we share with the filmmakers a common commercial imperative – which is really important. We’ve had great support from exhibition (185 prints), and the media and the critical response has been very positive. You do need to pedal a little harder with the local movies to get people’s attention, but it has also been very rewarding to create materials and drive a campaign from ground zero. Fingers crossed for the opening.”
The film tells the story of a woman in search of a bone marrow donor for her child, who has been diagnosed with leukemia.
Twentieth Century Fox today declined to comment on the results obtained by Matching Jack.
That is a very poor result for a 185 screen release.
Did Wooldridge really think audiences were going to flock to the cinemas to watch a depressing story about a child with cancer?
Fox Australia should stick with what they are best at – copying the marketing campaigns of their US masters.
I’m sure Matching Jack is a decent film, but wouldn’t it have been better suited for a TV or Cable release?
Having seen the film today, it’s a pity that so few people have chosen to see it. Depressing it’s not. A tear-jerker it is. But then history of film is littered with such stories – ‘Love Story’ with Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw is the prime example. Huge box-office even though the story was well-known.
But ultimately the marketing has failed – the usual problem with local films. But even with the budget it has, Fox has created a view (see Dean’s comment) that the film is depressing.