Wow---I don't even know where to start. Journey from the Fall was released nationwide this weekend and it has been a thrill ride for the past 72 hours. Here in San Jose, we had sold-out screenings back to back to back. According to some preliminary numbers, Journey is going to break the record for the highest-grossest opening weekend for any Vietnamese movie ever, and we only screened it in three cities!!! It also seems that it might even break the record for the highest gross per screen of ANY movie released this weekend (beating American mainstream ones)!
On Friday, a VSA person went to the San Jose theater and bought 130 tickets, and the theater person freaked out. On Saturday, the Vietnamese Veterans association bought out the entire theater in Orange County. Heck, the theaters in Orange County even bumped Shooter (which was also opening this weekend) just to accommodate the huge demand for Journey and added a second screen. Advanced ticket sales were so strong in San Jose, that the San Jose theather decided to open Journey on their biggest screen (in addition to the one already planned before). Sunday sales were overall higher than Saturday sales (highly unusual for a movie). The manager in Garden Grove said that the night was even crazier than the time when '300' or 'Pirates of the Carribean 2' came out. The lines were long and crazy.
On top of that, we got word that the movie is going to be released on April 30th 2007 in Australia and New Zealand. A Malaysian company already purchased the TV rights to air in Southeast Asia (boy, do I hope this will also air in Vietnam).
I picked up Ham Tran from the airport today to get him to the show, and heck, we even had to buy tickets to his own film just to save a seat (which we eventually gave away anyways, because people kept on coming--I even had to split up families just to find them seats).
The movie continues to screen in New York, Orange County and San Jose this week, so for those that have been turned away, do see it this week! It’ll open in Dallas and Houston this coming weekend, and soon will be in Chicago, Washington DC and San Francisco as well. With the high success of the movie, I have no doubt that we'll open in more cities soon as well (looks like Atlanta, Boston, Seattle might be next). Stay tuned on www.journeyfromthefall.com, and do spread the word!
Read the great articles in Orange County Register and San Jose Mercury (quoting grassroots brainchild Bao Ngo and a tiny mentioning of myself, wuhaha). Hey, Ham gave me a signed copy of the sheet music for Journey from the Fall. How freaking cool is that?! Can't wait to buy the soundtrack!
I'll report on the other many Vietnamese movies that I saw at this festival later ("White Silk Dress", "Bolinao 52", "Oh, Saigon", "Footy Legends", "Going Home")--kinda exhausted after watching Vietnamese movies for 10 hours today. Whew!
Update Monday, March 26th, 10am:
ImaginAsian Pictures JOURNEY FROM THE FALL tops the charts!
#1 per-screen average in the country at $21,861 per screen
NEW YORK, March 26, 2007-
ImaginAsian Pictures first theatrical release, JOURNEY FROM THE FALL made a spectacular bow in the opening weekend of its rolling theatrical release, earning the highest per-screen average of any film, specialty or mainstream, in the country with $21,861 per screen. Playing in four theaters, the film grossed $87,442 for the weekend.
"This is a defining moment for Asian American cinema and is a testament to the talent, determination and vision of the filmmakers and producers involved. All those who champion independent productions should draw inspiration from this!" said Michael Hong, CEO of ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc.
Currently playing sold-out screenings in New York City, Westminster, and San Jose, and expanding nationwide beginning March 30, 2007, Journey from the Fall is directed by Ham Tran and is inspired by the true stories of Vietnamese refugees who fled their land after the fall of Saigon, and the struggles of those who stayed behind and suffered the brutalities of the re-education camps. The critically acclaimed film was an official selection of both the Sundance and the Pusan Film Festivals, and has won more than 10 awards at 20 festivals around the world.
The film stars Kieu Chinh, Long Nguyen, Diem Lien, Nguyen Thai Nguyen, and Jayvee Mai The Hiep.
Journey from the Fall (www.JourneyFromTheFall.com) is an ImaginAsian Pictures release, a division of ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc.