Navy SEAL Action-Thriller Over-Performs Taking No. 1 Spot in America
Third No. 1 Opening for Relativity as Distributor in Less Than One Year
Third No. 1 Opening for Relativity as Distributor in Less Than One Year
(Beverly Hills, Calif.) February 27, 2012 – Relativity Media’s adrenaline-fueled Navy SEAL action-thriller Act of Valor, starring active-duty Navy SEALs, exceeded both internal and industry estimates when it took the No. 1 spot in America in its debut and raked in approximately $24.5 million, it was announced today by Kyle Davies, Relativity’s President, Worldwide Distribution. The Bandito Brothers’ Act of Valor released in 3,039 locations in North America on February 24th (Alliance Films handled distribution in Canada) and was produced and directed by former Baja 1000 champion Mike “Mouse” McCoy and former stuntman Scott Waugh. This marks Relativity’s third over-performing film to reach the No. 1 spot in its opening weekend in less than a year. Both the paranoia-fueled action-thriller Limitless (March 2011) and the 3D epic action-adventure Immortals (November 2011) debuted first place at the box office—a milestone no other independent distributor had achieved last year.
Davies said, “Relativity believed in Act of Valor from the moment we saw the film and acquired the rights. We knew this movie had it all--a visceral and emotional movie-going experience that satisfies audiences-- which certainly proved to be the case this weekend,” he added, “Hats off to the Bandito Brothers’ directors Mouse and Scott who delivered a breakthrough picture that worked on so many levels, across many audiences. Although the film’s great performance was primarily driven by males, our exit polls and ‘A’ CinemaScore indicate that females also loved the film. We hope to continue to grow the female audience through word-of-mouth. Its playability is sure to give the film legs for strong holdover weeks and a successful run.”
Relativity mounted a robust marketing and publicity campaign that executed a multi-pronged strategy toward reaching an audience of gamers, action fans, sports fans, ethnic audiences, country music fans, patriots, military, women, colleges, conservative and faith communities with a targeted focus on males, ages 18-54. Positive word-of-mouth became the cornerstone of the campaign. An extensive advance screening program was launched in over 40 markets (totaling more than 400 screenings) that began in Los Angeles and New York in October and expanded in the field through release. Exit polls also indicated very strong response across the board in both rating and recommend scores. The film earned an “A” CinemaScore rating and polls showed extremely high marks from both males and females of all ages and ethnic groups, even finding 91% of all females polled rated the film above average. Polls indicated the ethnic breakdown as follows: 63% Caucasian; 13% African-American; 10% Latino; 7% Asian and 7% Other.
Another tenet of the campaign was reinforcing the film’s authenticity message to audiences. In addition to prominently mentioning the film starred “active duty Navy SEALs,” advertising and publicity efforts reiterated that live ammunition were used in shooting training runs while filming. Relativity also partnered with highly-celebrated, best-selling author Tom Clancy on the film and with an accompanying novelization, “Tom Clancy Presents Act of Valor,” written by Dick Couch and George Galdorisi which was based on the film’s screenplay by Kurt Johnstad (300). Clancy’s name is a globally recognizable brand for not only his own military-thriller novels, but for non-fiction books, movies and video games. This was Clancy’s first time in presenting a novelization of a feature film not based on his own original work. Clancy’s long-time publisher Berkley Books released the novelization on paperback January 10th and is No. 4 on the New York Times best sellers list. Brilliance Audio released the audio version.
While the film played equally strong to both males and females, a conscious effort was placed on advertising directly to males in the television campaign, with a concentration on sports. The Bandito Brothers’ groundbreaking film had a presence during televised coverage of Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012. Four 30-second unique Act of Valor commercials, featuring exclusive content, ran throughout the program including two spots that aired during the pre-game, one spot in game during the fourth quarter and one spot in the post-game show. The game received record viewership. Females were reached through an aggressive word-of-mouth screening program and via social media outreach. After advance promotional screenings, social media stations were set up in the lobbies to inspire online dialogue and audience members were deputized to prompt web conversation through peer-to-peer validation.
To further support the release of Act of Valor, some campaign highlights include digital initiatives that featured a partnership with Electronic Arts Battlefield 3: Back To Karkand, where fans eager for additional action could go to www.actofvalor.com/bf3 to unlock free Battlefield 3™ dog tags for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system or PC. In addition, if you bought two or more tickets via Fandango.com, fans received a free Battlefield 3: Back To Karkand Map Pack for the Xbox 360® console. To engage the gaming audience, we partnered with top gaming site Machinima and invited military personnel to play Battlefield 3 with gaming influencers, the event was streamed live through machinimas YouTube channel. Additionally Relativity launched a digital integration with YouTube celebrities FPS Russia and Rated RR which received over 2.7 million views to date; and a YouTube campaign was also launched to allow people to salute real service members via www.youtube.com/actofvalorsalutes.
Promotional partnerships leveraged additional exposure and audience reach through such companies as: Clear Channel Radio, Netflix, MillerCoors, Bass Pro Shops, LifeLock, 5.11 Tactical®, Jaeger Le-Coultre, Canon, Adobe, NVIDIA, Oakley, Silynx, among others.
Act Of Valor The Album, the soundtrack released by Relativity Music Group and distributed in music retail locations by Capitol Records Nashville, is currently topping the iTunes® charts-- holding strong at No. 7 on the Top 100 albums chart and No. 1 on the country album chart. The soundtrack features new music from some of today’s top recording artists including: Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Trace Adkins, Wynonna Judd, Montgomery Gentry. Additionally, Keith Urban’s song from the soundtrack “For You” is currently No. 19 on iTunes® country song chart and the video for the song premieres today on Country Music Television (CMT) and Great American Country (GAC). A portion of proceeds from the sale of the album will go to the Navy SEAL Foundation. Act of Valor’s score album, containing 20 original cues composed by Nathan Furst, is also No. 19 on iTunes®.
The studio also owns worldwide rights to Act of Valor with Film Nation handling foreign sales. There are more than 24 international territories confirmed to release Act of Valor theatrically including such territories as: UK/Momentum, Spain/TriPictures, Benelux/A-Film, Italy/M2 Pictures, Japan/Gaga, Australia & New Zealand/Village Roadshow, Brazil/Imagem, Mexico/Gussi, South Korea/BMP, Thailand/Sahamongkol, Singapore/Golden Village, Taiwan/SSG, Turkey/Aqua Group, Portugal/Lusomundo, and Hong Kong/Panorama.
Act of Valor, which also stars actors Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle and Nestor Serrano, features a gripping story that takes audiences on an edge-of-their-seat journey, when a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly results in the discovery of an imminent, terrifying global threat, an elite team of highly-trained Navy SEALs must immediately embark on a heart-stopping secret operation, the outcome of which will determine the fate of us all. Act of Valor combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the-minute battlefield technology, and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure film—showcasing the skills, training and tenacity of the greatest action heroes of them all: real Navy SEALs. The film was also executive produced by Ryan Kavanaugh, Tucker Tooley, Max Leitman, Jay Pollack, Jason Clark, Michael Mailis, Benjamin Statler, Lance Sloane and Bert Ellis.
Relativity acknowledges the support of the following agencies for their tireless efforts on the release campaign: Concept Arts, Giaronomo, Open Road, Transit, Black Box Creative Group, Ignition, Mob Scene, Carat, Palisades Media, 42 West, 42 West Targeted Marketing, Arian Simone Enterprises, Grace Hill Media, Joe Favorito, Allied-THA, Moroch Entertainment, Janet Wainwright Public Relations, Parish PR, The In-House Writer and a special thank you to Captain Duncan Smith.
The studio’s upcoming slate includes the magical adventure comedy Mirror Mirror (in theatres March 30, 2012), starring Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane and Sean Bean. The studio is also in post-production on the outrageous comedy 21 and Over and is currently in pre-production on the affirming and suspenseful Safe Haven, based on the novel from best-selling author Nicholas Sparks, and the espionage thriller Hunter Killer.
About Relativity Media
Relativity Media is a next-generation studio engaged in multiple aspects of entertainment, including full-scale film and television production and distribution, the co-financing of major studio film slates, music publishing, sports management and digital media. Additionally, the company makes strategic partnerships with, and investments in, media and entertainment-related companies and assets.
To date, Relativity has produced, distributed, and/or structured financing for more than 200 motion pictures. Released films have accumulated more than $17 billion in worldwide box office receipts. Relativity’s recent films include: Act of Valor, Haywire, Immortals, Tower Heist, Bridesmaids, Hop, Limitless, Anonymous, Machine Gun Preacher, Cowboys & Aliens, Battle: Los Angeles, Season of The Witch, Little Fockers, The Fighter, The Social Network, Salt, Despicable Me, Grown Ups, Dear John, It’s Complicated, Couples Retreat and Zombieland. Upcoming films for Relativity include: Mirror Mirror, The Raven, 21 Jump Street, American Reunion, and The Bourne Legacy. Thirty-nine of the company’s films have opened to No. 1 at the box office. Relativity films have earned 60 Oscar® nominations, including nods for The Fighter, The Social Network, The Wolfman, A Serious Man, Frost/Nixon, Atonement, American Gangster and 3:10 to Yuma. Sixty-two of Relativity’s films have each generated more than $100 million in worldwide box-office receipts.
Relativity also owns RogueLife, Relativity’s digital content studio which is developing original content for the Web and creating sustainable online platforms and communities. RelativityREAL, Relativity’s television arm, has 67 projects in production, including 17 original series that are currently airing or will air in the upcoming television season including Police Women for TLC, Coming Home for Lifetime and The Great Food Truck Race for Food Network. For additional information, please visit www.relativitymedia.com
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