“Birdman,” named Best Picture at Sunday’s Academy Awards, is returning to theaters in a big way.
Fox Searchlight said Monday that it will have the dark comedy in more than 1,000 theaters this weekend. Directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, the film also won a Best Director Oscar.
Re-releasing the film is a bold play by distributor Fox Searchlight, because it became available on DVD and On-Demand last week. And the quirky tale starring Michael Keaton as an aging superhero actor has been playing in theaters for more than four months.
“Birdman” will play in a large number of arthouse and specialty theaters as well as in many mainstream multiplexes and suburban complexes, according to Frank Rodriguez, head of distribution at Twentieth Century Fox’s niche label.
After a platform release that began in October and peaked at the end of November, “Birdman” had taken in $26.6 million. Once it was nominated for nine Academy Awards on Jan. 15, Searchlight rolled it out again.
It peaked in 976 theaters and has taken in $11.1 million since then for a $37.7 million domestic total.
Its best weekend was Nov. 14-16, when it took in $2.4 million and made the first of four appearances in the top ten.
“Birdman,” which cost $18 million to make, has also grossed $39 million overseas, giving it a worldwide total of $77 million.
It won four Oscars, as did “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” another Fox Searchlight release.