I’d normally wait for my next column, but this is too good not to share. After all, I know people have soured on Kathryn Heigl, but this is ridiculous.
In case you haven’t heard the story, in 2006 the Kathryn Heigl/Tom Sizemore movie Zyzzyx Road was released in a single theater in Dallas for seven days, showing once per day. Ultimately, the film grossed $30 from selling six tickets. No, I am not forgetting a zero or two — you can check out the Box Office Mojo report here. Actually, according to the site it still is the lowest grossing film in U.S. box office history (number 11297 out of 11297, to be exact). Considering it cost $1.3 million to make, not including the $1000 to rent the theater, the movie finished deep in the red.
How did this happen? The film’s star/producer, Leo Grillo, was required to screen the film because of Screen Actors Guild requirements, but he didn’t want to release the film theatrically until he released it internationally first, but those international deals never came through. It was eventually released on DVD, though never in the United States.
But according to Deadline GoDigital, a distributor I’ve been following in my regular VOD Overdose column, has stepped up and acquired the VOD rights to distribute Zyzzyx Road in the U.S. Grillo calls the international DVD releases “successful” and claims “we are excited to finally move into US households.”
However, GoDigital Director of Marketing, Barry Daffurn is a bit more facetious when he adds, “We love the story behind this film and are thrilled to be part of what we believe will be a happy ending, I am confident it will make us more than $30.” I mean, the publicity alone of “lowest grossing film in history” will certainly draw some eyeballs (I’d love to review it based on that alone!)
So remember amateur filmmakers — even though that movie you shot in college never went anywhere yet, there’s always hope!
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