Boots Riley went on Twitter over the weekend to complain that foreign distributors have been cool to his film "Sorry to Bother You" because they believe black films don’t do well financially overseas.
"Sorry to Bother You," the sci-fi comedy about a black telemarketer who finds success sounding like a Caucasian in phone calls, has made more than $14 million domestically since its release July 13, which The Hollywood Reporter called a "strong showing" for a specialty film.
According to Box Office Mojo, the film finished No. 17 this past weekend among all films, pulling in $810,000 on 404 screens nationwide.
Riley, who wrote and directed the film, said on Twitter that despite its numbers, the film has not premiered internationally.
The Hollywood Reporter said Annapurna is handling domestic distribution and holds worldwide rights to the film and said the "Sorry to Bother You" foreign rollout through local international distributors has not been worked out yet.
Judd Taylor, associate director of programming for the Los Angeles Downtown Film Festival, tweeted that Riley look at "Moonlight," which also had an African-American cast, as an example. According to Box Office Mojo, "Moonlight," which won the Academy Award for best motion picture in 2017, made $37 million in theaters overseas, outpacing the $27 million made domestically.
The Hollywood Reporter said while it’s true that African-American films historically have had a difficult time making money internationally, those trends have recently started to change.
Marvel's "Black Panther" grossed $647 million overseas, while "Hidden Figures" and "Straight Outta Compton" did "solid business overseas," THR said.
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