October 2021

Edgar wright Last night in Soho is an arthouse film that has opened on 3,000 screens – a gamble in a cinema market where multiplex enthusiasts are primarily looking to big-budget, high-octane studio franchises. (Dune, Halloween kills and No time to Die took the top spots this weekend, an overall sweet where the Halloween parties may have heralded October’s stellar upturn.)

With the exception of Downton Abbey, Focus has hardly ever launched a movie on so many screens, period. Before Covid, he would surely have rolled out the 1960s-themed psychological thriller for weeks on end in a “platform” release starting with the artwork. But the pandemic has blurred the lines of what plays out where. (On the other hand, a lot of struggling arthouse has been welcomed Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Bond.)

Last night – about an aspiring fashion designer mysteriously able to step into the 1960s where she meets a dazzling aspiring singer and a very dark secret – has done best in arthouse theaters including the Alamo Drafthouse chain (run by Brooklyn) and 35mm print cinemas at the Music Box in Chicago, the Village East and BAM in New York, the Belcourt in Nashville, the Coolidge Corner in Boston and the New Beverly in THE. He also performed well in eight AMC cinemas in Dolby, all on the coasts, where Last night doing his best. This has skewed young people, mirroring the audience returning to theaters, with 68% of ticket buyers under 35. No time to die – may have been exaggerated.)

As Deadline reported, Last night grossed $ 4.16 million, which puts it in 6th place and well below the follow-up.

“I’m really happy this movie has hit theaters,” said Lisa Bunnell, Focus Distribution Manager. “We got what we wanted with the film and for Edgar.” The director, a strong supporter of cinema films, is now in the UK to promote Last night after a targeted marketing blitz in the United States.

Focus is not alone, other distributors have made a similar choice as the cinema market struggles to recover. There are several reasons why:

– TV Windows: Focus did not announce the paid video on demand window for Last night but he recently followed a 17-day pattern for his films. Assuming that’s the case here, some theaters would be less willing to show it after this time – so it needs to come out as wide as possible as quickly as possible. “There are different variables. If you’re going to PVOD or streaming for a relatively short period of time, you can’t roll it out on TV and hit theaters at the same time, ”one distributor said.

-Economics: Distributors may get a better return on their initial investment in marketing dollars with greater theatrical sweep, especially if PVOD is not far behind.

-Why not ? : Directors like it. And even the incremental and decreasing round-trip ticket sales of the suburban multiplexes are still in checkout. The wider the aperture, the more people might have heard about the film once it releases in PVOD.

The downside is that the industry thinks about it and says the film didn’t perform well, didn’t perform well and draw conclusions about it based on the opening number. But we live in such a strange time, Bunnell said, that “adult films are no longer traceable. It is no one’s fault. It’s the pandemic. All the means we have used to judge where the films are going, up or down, are less reliable. “

Distributor deadline is every week for Specialty Preview and usually fingers crossed and have no idea how their movies will perform.

“What really matters now is that things get better. Look at the whole month of October. The box office is growing, I think we’re going for a strong holiday season. This is good news, ”Bunnell said.

The specialty sector has released films at a rapidly accelerating pace, with many having taken place since 2020 and releasing strong festivals this year from Cannes to Venice, Telluride, Toronto, London and New York. “We are delighted that the content is on the air. If we don’t get the content, we’ll never get that audience back, ”a distribution manager said.

Other specialty openings: presentation by A24 of Joanna Hogg’s The Remembrance Part II, which posted the highest overall weekend average per screen of $ 26,485, albeit at three theaters in NY and LA. The 2019 drama sequel stars Honor Swinton Byrne and will open up other top markets this weekend ahead of a lengthy theatrical rollout.

(A24 recently had a hit specialty with genre film Lamb, which climbs to $ 2.766 million across 145 screens in week 3.)

The notable vestige was that of Wes Anderson The French dispatch. The Searchlight Pictures film, which posted a super per-screen average of $ 26,000 last weekend in 42 locations – expanded to 788 theaters for a gross amount of $ 2.8 million, gross over three days and an average per screen of over $ 3,500. Cumulative gross after 10 days of publication is $ 4.6 million.

Searchlight said the strongholds opened in week two include the Belcourt in Nashville, Avon in Stamford Ct., Cinema du Parc and the Forum in Montreal, Hillcrest in San Diego, Tower in Sacramento, Avon in Providence, Lagoon in Minneapolis, Piedmont in Oakland and the Pittsburgh Manor.

Next week, it will expand to 1,200 theaters in all remaining medium and small-sized markets, including art houses in New England, Western Massachusetts, and upstate New. York, Raleigh, North Carolina, and central Pennsylvania.

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Even during the pandemic, when marriages were curtailed and brides around the world were forced to put their plans on hold, the fantasy “never went away,” she added.

“(The brides) never wanted to compromise on the dress. Even though they were going to have a little ceremony, they still wanted the dream dress … (if there were) five people in the room with them , or 200. “

Lhuillier has been distributing fantasies – and fulfilling her own dreams of running a successful label – since 1996, when she set up her eponymous brand in the basement of her parents’ house in Malibu without even a business plan (” we don’t have I don’t know nothing. for ten years when they devoted “90% of their time” to the business.

A floral dress by Monique Lhuillier. Credit: Monique Lhuillier / Rizzoli

At the time, Lhuillier, who was born and raised in the Philippines and then lived in Switzerland, was inspired by a sense of “Californian ease,” she writes in a new book retracing her 25-year career. Her early designs offered romantic, modern silhouettes that were close to the body and embellished with unexpected details, from colorful belts to blush veils.

However, the brand was not, Lhuillier recalled, an instant dazzling success. As she ran between bridal shows and catwalks, calling out whoever would sell her brand’s dresses – while also running a Beverly Hills store and developing new designs – there was no time to work with. Hollywood stylists. And anyway, the pair “didn’t realize the power of celebrity dressing,” she said.

Angelina Jolie wearing Monique Lhuillier at the 2002 Golden Globes, accompanied by Billy-Bob Thornton. Credit: Gregg DeGuire / WireImage / Getty Images

But that all changed in 2002, when Angelina Jolie asked to wear one of her dresses for the Golden Globes. The elegant look was not a cream, beige or white, but rather a strapless black dress paired with a shawl and pearl necklace. Then, the following year, the brand was noticed when Lhuillier made for the first time a wedding dress for a “mega celebrity”: Britney Spears.

Big cut

Spears was splashed in every magazine back then. After kissing Madonna at the VMAs, then marrying Jason Allen Alexander – only to have the union called off 55 hours later – she went on to announce a surprise engagement to backup dancer Kevin Federline.

In search of a dress for the wedding, a friend and stylist of Spears contacted Lhuillier and arranged a series of dates in secret places to prevent the paparazzi from harassing the singer. It made it difficult to give Spears “the whole experience of a bride,” the designer recalled, as she couldn’t just show up to her studio.

Monique Lhuillier’s ready-to-wear collection, presented during Spring-Summer Paris Fashion Week in 2017. Credit: Monique Lhuillier / Rizzoli

“I didn’t just bring her two dresses, I showed her what I would show to (all) my brides, so that she could feel like she really had the (typical bridal) experience,” said said Lhuillier, explaining how the brand designed the bespoke lace, accessories and veil for Spears, as well as the dress.

Lhuillier was also commissioned to make a “fun and flirty” reception dress and dresses for the whole wedding party, in a strict color scheme. She was given six weeks to design and produce everything, a huge task considering she was also preparing to show off a ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week.

When the press found out about the wedding, the pressure mounted.

“The day before my show, I got a phone call from his team,” she recalls. They said, ‘People are finding out, so we have to get the wedding to take place earlier, so now you will have three weeks. ”

“(I told them) ‘OK, we’ll do it. Don’t worry.’ But inside, I was dying. “

Designer Monique Lhuillier attends a 2018 gala. Credit: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images

In a way, she succeeded. Photos of the nuptials have been splashed in magazines and on the internet, with Spears’ white silk gown, embroidered train, and floor-sweeping veil in the spotlight. Soon more and more of his ready-to-wear items were appearing on celebrity red carpets, and Lhuillier “could sense the momentum” when people finally began to fully understand his French surname – loo-lee. -ei.

“It helped people figure out how to pronounce our name; it helped hearing it a few times on the (red) carpet. It really cemented our name and the idea of ​​Monique Lhuillier and glamor.”

A quarter of a century later

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the brand remains proudly independent, with Lhuillier as Creative Director and Bugbee as CEO. Their dresses – and now the furniture and jewelry, among other things – are American made, so the designer can stay “on the go”. (“It’s not the cheapest way to do it, but that’s how I like to work,” she said.)

Taylor Swift wearing Monique Lhuillier in 2014. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

The cover of Monique Lhuillier’s new book, a retrospective of her career published by Rizzoli. Credit: Monique Lhuillier / Rizzoli

“Jewelry, for me, was a natural (progression). It’s part of history. Without a ring, there is no dress,” she said, adding that each piece is engraved with a short message from him.

Figuring out what comes next is a tall order, especially since she has already been shown at Paris Fashion Week, received a Presidential Medal of Merit from former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and she received the seal of approval from American first ladies Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. Lhuillier said that as an immigrant who had lived in the United States for almost 35 years, it was “an honor” to dress the women of the White House.

First Lady Michelle Obama wore Monique Lhuillier in 2014, alongside her husband President Barack Obama. Credit: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

The designer, who lived in the Philippines until the age of 14, said she still carries the country’s “kindness” and “traditions” to this day. Describing herself as a “citizen of the world” she said: “It was a gift to be raised in Asia… picking up all these cultures and bringing back family has always been the most important thing.”

Designer Monique Lhuillier (second from left) with models wearing her Spring 2019 bridal collection. Credit: Monique Lhuillier / Rizzoli

Yet rather than creating designs inspired by the Philippines, she believes that “good design transcends so many different cultures.”

“I decided to create this brand so that women feel empowered and they feel beautiful.”