In a move that probably should have happened two weeks ago, ARC Entertainment -- the Santa Monica-based distributor of Stephen K. Bannon's Palin documentary -- announced that they would make the film available through on demand services starting on Sept. 1, backed by "a multi-million dollar marketing campaign." Additionally, 250,000 Undefeated DVDs will hit stores around the country on Oct. 4, with a special edition version reserved for Walmart shelves. (How this will all dovetail with Palin's will-she-won't-she presidential run remains to be seen.)
"The Undefeated is a terrific case study for a digital cinema release," said Jill Newhouse Calcaterra, the chief marketing officer at Cinedigm, which is the film's digital distributor.
Indeed it may prove to be, Jill. However, if ARC and Cinedigm is correct in their respective assumptions -- that The Undefeated will play well in the home entertainment market, since a majority of its potential audience probably isn't able to get to one of the 14 theaters playing the film currently -- the question must be raised: why release The Undefeated as a standalone theatrical property in the first place? So stories about how it played at an empty theater could disseminate across the blogosphere and make it look like a joke?
As of this posting, it is unclear what additional cities will debut The Undefeated in theatrical release this weekend; for reference, the film is currently playing in the "greater Los Angeles area" (Ontario, Calif.), but not yet New York.
· Sarah Palin Biopic 'The Undefeated' Goes Pay-Per-View & Video-On-Demand Sept. 1 [Deadline]
· 'The Undefeated' [Box Office Mojo]