Kalistani Major History

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"The Rug At the Center of it All" fails at the box office, but...
Some theaters have noted strong midnight sales in second run
Sulari, Suldanor
February 26, 5329


Republican Pictures' "The Rug at the Center of it All" posted dismal returns, but fans are giving it a second look

One of the most hyped new films to come out in recent years, "The Rug at the Center of it All" which was released at the end of October last year was by all measures a box office disaster. The movie, which cost Republican Pictures 21.6 million KRB to make failed to break even (even before marketing was considered) in its first trip through movie theaters in November. Numerous problems were cited for the dismal returns, including delays in release (it was meant for a July release, but was postponed for several months when it was discovered that about 15 unexposed cartridges of film were run through an xray machine at the airport, and the four key scenes needed to be reshot entirely in post production), competition for limited dollars around the holiday season, lack of adequate promotion, and some theater owners refusing to play a movie where the only discernable plot is "The Guy just wants his rug back." Two theaters in Vrassa even unsuccessfully sued Republican Pictures for damages following a loss in the concessions for the film.

When the movie left the movie theaters, few Kalistani even were aware of the film's release, much less went to see it. It is fair to say that most of those who did see the film were fans of the book, and they roundly panned the movie, while critics complained about lack of coherent story, absurdity, and drug and alcohol use making it unsuitable for small children. The film earned a dismal 16% positive on Movietone, the movie review aggregator. One review said "There were only three people besides me in the theater: A preacher, a kid and a drag queen. Typical night for this bomb. I hope it sinks Republican."

It seemed that the film was indeed headed for oblivion, until the film entered the second run theaters and played to midnight audiences. Kalistani theaters regularly play more esoteric and underground films, as well as movies which are not intended for families and concert films during the midnight showing times--They are incredibly inexpensive to acquire, and even with limited audiences, theater owners can generally generate a bit of profit during the late night hours catering to audiences who are looking for something to do and don't mind occasionally seeing something weird, slightly pornographic, or just poorly made. Concessions alone are usually enough to justify latenight programs at most theaters. Once "The Rug at the Center of it All" started playing in some Kaliburg and Sulari theaters overnight in mid January, it began attracting crowds of viewers who were at the theater following a night out at the bar or the club. And the movie began to generate some buzz.

Just this week, the movie finally began generating profit, based almost completely on late night shows. Republican Pictures has announced that 17 new theaters have ordered a copy of the movie to show, and they are considering rerelease in the Spring. "Right now, in just a few weeks, several critics have issued moderate to positive reviews for the program," said head of Audience engagement, Tom Yellen. "We have seen this movie go from a movie that nearly 5 whole people saw in the theater to one which is beginning to generate interest in latenight showing, when people can perhaps watch the film in a more appropriate state of mind, which is likely intoxicated in someway."

The experience of watching it with a crowd is part of the draw for a lot of people. "I've seen it like six times," said Valerie Burke, a college student in Yoshimi. "We've even started going bowling and then going to the late show with a few beers and a bowl or two of weed in us. We're part of the crowd that yells for the managers to keep the lights lit up a little, so we can see what other people are doing while watching the movie." Indeed, the crowds are fairly rowdy, but well behaved in all lateshows, but theaters have only started opting to keep lights on low, rather than making the theater completely dark, on demand from the crowd, because of people going to see this movie. "There's always a show, besides the show, if you get my drift."

It's unclear whether Republican Pictures will re-release "The Rug at the Center of it All" or just let it continue to deepen its cult status in the overnight market, but what is sure: now that word of mouth is generating interest in the film, it has finally found its audience and is getting its legs. Producers at Republican are breathing a sigh of relief.