Without a doubt, The Blair Witch Project has to be one of the most surprising successes of the summer. The scary movie, now in its "wide" release of about 1,100 screens has managed to gross $25 million as of July 31, averaging more than $9,000 per screen! The movie is being praised both by regular film goers, such as one who said, "Everyone in the theatre nearly pissed themselves," and prestigious film critics. Roger Ebert gave the movie his elusive four star rating.
The movie is scaring more than audiences. Other movie studios who have decided not to try to fight Blair's overpowering positive buzz bumped the release dates of Mystery Men and Deep Blue Sea in order to minimize the damage Blair will have on their ticket sales. Every movie studio needs to give itself a swift kick in the pants for not picking up fresh talent. Except for Artisan Entertainment. Artisan is the studio that bought the distribution rights for the $30,000-$60,000 Blair Witch for $1 million, only hours after seeing it. I think Artisan is very happy with its investment.
Honestly, the success of The Blair Witch Project is something that astounds and excites me. One of the reasons its success surprises me is that the movie was shot on video. Other than amusing school video projects I have been involved with or seen, I've only seen two movies shot on video: Gorotica and Schizophreniac: The Whore Mangler. They're not the types of productions that are up to snuff with glitz like The Phantom Menace. The amateurish medium most likely has been widely accepted since it actually reinforces the illusion of the film being a documentary.
Pay TV rights for Blair have reportedly been acquired by Showtime. Also, FOX mogul Rupert Murdoch has outbid USA / Sci-fi channel head honcho Barry Diller for the TV rights to Blair. The deal is rumored to be in the $10 million neighborhood. The movie would most likely be aired on Murdoch's basic cable channel FX. TV audiences are also likely to see more from Blair masterminds Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez, Mike Monello, Robin Cowie and Gregg Hale. The five have reportedly signed a deal with 20th Century Fox and Regency TV to develop a "younger, hipper X-files" show.
Follow-ups
Last Is First
In a recent Showbiz Confidential column, Jeffrey Wells drops a bombshell about the dubious originality of The Blair Witch Project that blows away his original revelation and restores his mainstream credibility after writing about Cannibal Holocaust. It turns out that years before Blair Witch was being made, an uncannily similar movie called The Last Broadcast was made about a search for the legendary New Jersey Devil. By far, the most surprising thing is that the creators of The Last Broadcast aren't suing the Blair Witch creators, who have reportedly seen the obscure precedent. Maybe because this isn't Hollywood.
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