B.O. takes side 'Trip'

The Trip required a well planned voyage to U.S. theaters. Opening a made-for-TV movie starring two resolutely British comics within the warmth of summer time tentpole season may not appear just like a guaranteed recipe for box office success. But IFC's discharge of "The Trip," directed by Michael Winterbottom, became one from the summer's niche achievements, with $1.84 million in theatrical B.O. and the other healthy chunk from VOD. Individuals aren't Woodsy Allen-sized amounts, but following a season when several festival pick-ups have battled to locate their aud, "The Trip" is just about the prolific Winterbottom's top U.S. limited release ("A Mighty Heart" went wide).The smartly planned rollout echoed the distrib's summer time 2009 discharge of "Informed,"another BBC telepic starring Steve Coogan.Beginning like a six-part BBC2 miniseries, "The Trip" is really a sardonic travelogue of the freewheeling drive round the British countryside. Coogan plays a food author on the magazine assignment to go to lavish restaurants who drags Take advantage of Brydon along for company and carousing. Though huge within the U.K., the heavens are little-known across water-feature: Coogan made an appearance in "Tropic Thunder," while Brydon is really a longtime British TV actor. When "The Trip" was recut like a feature and opened in Toronto this past year, IFC observed a raucous aud a reaction to the typically British humor, stated IFC senior Vice president of selling and publicity Ryan Werner. The pic's U.S. journey began with April's preem in the Tribeca Film Fest, where Coogan and Brydon did well-received Q&As and many U.S. promotion. IFC introduced in Mark Woollen, creator of trailers for photos including "The Social Networking," to chop trailers, including one featuring the memorable scene where Coogan and Brydon compete to drag from the best Michael Caine impression. After Tribeca, IFC folded out plenty of person to person tests and tested the pic in the Bay Area and Boston Film Fests. Advertising and publicity campaigns were a number of surgical strikes specific in the right niches: IFC recommended the foodie journey position to food writers (the L.A. Weekly's Squid Ink blog known as it "possibly among the funniest food-designed films ever"). Comedy fans were specific by spots bought on comedian Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast, bolstered by flyers at comedy clubs. Werner pegs the humor because the primary driver behind the pic's success. "People wish to feel great,Inch he stated.Because the pic opened up June 10, it tallied up a startling 97% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes' top experts. Although it never performed in additional than 62 theaters at any given time, "it will still play with the fall," based on Werner. Additionally to offered-out shows in cities, an optimistic reception in places like Madison, Wis., and Orlando, Fla., demonstrates the pic's appeal past the shorelines. Like the majority of of IFC's releases, "The Trip" also bowed on VOD around the same time frame because the theatrical opening -- within this situation, not much later, to let it be eligible for a possible honours consideration. VOD performance continues to be "really solid," Werner stated, approaching the boffo sales for "Informed."Though IFC also offers privileges towards the original TV series, which might air sometime, "We wanted individuals to think about it as being a movie first," Werner stated. IFC is getting a powerful summer time, with better still recent results for paperwork "Buck" and "Cave of Forgotten Dreams." However in a difficult season for niche films, IFC's discharge of "The Trip" shows the amount of elements that has to coalesce to have an indie to possess a fighting chance.Werner stressed that an essential component is keeping the pic appear fresh to filmgoers by delivering new posters and trailers on the way. "Are looking for new methods to engage the crowd,Inch he stated. Contact Pat Saperstein at pat.saperstein@variety.com