Bob and Jeanne Berney’s Picturehouse will open Marco Pontecorvo’s Fatima in theaters and direct to home (PVOD) throughout North America on Aug. 28.
The pic was last scheduled for an Aug. 14, 1,000 theater-plus run. The distributor has been having sold out pop-up drive-in previews recently as part of their grassroots word-of-mouth digital marketing campaign.
Picturehouse picked up the movie in October. The movie was first scheduled for April 24 before the exhibition COVID-19 shutdown. The movie is set during the Spanish Flu, and has echoes to what’s going on now.
“The response to FATIMA at our Pop-Up Drive In Premieres has been wonderful,” says Bob Berney, CEO. “Audiences and social media reactions have convinced us that we need to get this movie out now. We held out as long as possible for a traditional theatrical release but given the national situation, we did not want to postpone the release of this movie with it’s message of hope, any further.”
Picturehouse debuted the trailer on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, to over 10 million views online, and took advantage of the additional time to pivot from the typical promotional activities undertaken to find an audience, including several Facebook Premiere events. The pic’s pop-in drive in schedule is below:
Miami at the Hard Rock Stadium, July 13
Los Angeles at The Palladium Theater in Hollywood, July 19
Los Angeles/Simi Valley at the Humingbird Nest Ranch, July 21
Bridgehampton, NY, July 24
Chicago at Soldier Field, July 28
Atlanta at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Aug. 5
Boston at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Parish, Aug. 9
A powerful and uplifting drama about the power of faith, Fatima tells the story of a 10-year-old shepherd and her two young cousins in Fátima, Portugal, who report seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, inspiring thousands of believers and angering officials of both the Catholic Church and the secularist government, who try to force them to recant their story. As word of their prophecy spreads, tens of thousands of religious pilgrims flock to the site in hopes of witnessing a miracle.
Pontecorvo directed and wrote with Valerio D’Annunzio and Barbara Nicolosi. Pic stars Joaquim de Almeida (Queen of the South), Goran Višnjić (Beginners), Stephanie Gil (Terminator: Dark Fate) and Lúcia Moniz (Love, Actually), with Sônia Braga (Aquarius) and Harvey Keitel (The Piano, The Irishman).
Producers are James T. Volk (The Code), Dick Lyles (Little One), Stefano Buono, Maribel Lopera Sierra, Marco Pontecorvo, Rose Ganguzza (Kill Your Darlings) and Natasha Howes (The 13th Day). Director of photography is Vincenzo Carpineta (Letters to Juliet). Editor is Alessio Doglione (20 Cigarettes). Production design is by Cristina Onori (All the Money in the World). Costume design is by Daniela Ciancio (The Great Beauty). Original music is by Paolo Buonvino (Fathers & Daughters, Quiet Chaos). Original song performed by Andrea Bocelli.
EPs include Marco Valerio Pugini (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Holly Carney (The Code), David Fischer (A Guy Called Michael Egan), Frida Torresblanco (Pan’s Labyrinth), and Matthew J. Malek (The Peanut Butter Falcon).