Bishop T.D. Jakes’ “Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day,” a Neema Barnette film starring Golden Globe® nominee Blair Underwood (“Madea’s Family Reunion,” “Set It Off”), Sharon Leal (“Why Did I Get Married Too?”), Nicole Beharie (“American Violet”), Nicoye Banks (“Law & Order”) and Emmy Award® nominee Pam Grier (“Just Wright”), did a box office ‘wow’ when it performed better than anyone predicted, including the makers of the film.
Playing in 102 theaters, “Woman Thou Art Loosed” grossed an estimated $650,319, or $6,376 per screen. According to the L.A. Times, that’s more than first-place “The Hunger Games” generated per screen in its fourth weekend in wide release in 3,916 locations, and better than any other film tracked last weekend by hollywood.com.
The film was booked exclusively into AMC theaters under the exhibitor’s AMCi initiative for independent film. Because AMC theaters are not in optimum locations for African American moviegoers in Los Angeles, the bulk of the “Woman Thou Art Loosed” revenue came from other big cities.
“Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day” tells the story of what happens when the 6-year-old daughter of a successful couple who appear to have it all is kidnapped. Over the course of seven days, they begin to uncover secrets about their pasts that could rip their marriage and lives apart.
“If you provide the right films in the right markets at the right times, the films will perform,” said Jeff Clanagan, chief executive officer of Codeblack, the Universal City-based company that financed the film’s production and distribution.
However, you will find it hard to locate the film this weekend. According to the producers, “Woman Thou Art Loosed,” which is the second installment from Jakes’ Woman Thou Art Loosed! franchise, will not expand this weekend because it is expected to face strong competition for African American moviegoers from Screen Gems’ new comedy “Think Like a Man,” which stars Chris Brown and Kevin Hart.
“Woman Thou Art Loosed,” whose audience was estimated to be about 75 percent female, is set to expand its release the weekend of April 27-29. Clanagan expects that “Woman Thou Art Loosed,” whose producers include Bishop Jakes, ultimately could gross as much as $3 million.
“Our TDJ Independents division allows us to develop a slate of strong inspirational content produced on smaller budgets by independent filmmakers,” said Jakes, the film’s executive producer.
“We are fighting for the opportunity to bring faith to film in a way that brings the world in, not just Christians,” added Jakes. “We think that ‘Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day’ does that in very dynamic and powerful way.”
For those of you who don’t know who Bishop Jakes, he is the leader, and senior pastor of the 30,000-member church The Potter’s House located in Dallas, Texas. Under the TDJ Enterprises umbrella, a for-profit organization, are film, music, bestselling books, and other products helping disseminate a faith-based message to a wide audience. Visit http://www.tdjakes.com for more information.
For information on AMC Theatre locations and show times for “Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day,” go to www.amctheatres.com.
Gail can be reached at gail@hollywoodbychoice.com.
