SARAH PALIN FILM: A HIT OR A MISS?

Director Stephen K. Bannon’s Sarah Palin documentary The Undefeated may only have grossed around $68,000 in its limited debut in ten theaters over the weekend, but Bannon regards that amount as a big success. Bannon noted that the filmmakers used social media and word of mouth rather than expensive advertising and publicity to promote the movie and that several venues that showed it did so in theaters that only sat 95 people or so. “This is a documentary opening against Harry Potter on the toughest weekend of the year. We had small numbers but only in small theaters. In bigger markets, like Orange County, we’ll do $12,000 per screen,” Bannon told the Hollywood Reporter. But while Harry Potter turned out to be the best-reviewed movie of the year, The Undefeated turned out to be the worst. The film received not a single positive review from a major newspaper, magazine, or trade critic.