October 13, 2023 was supposed be the opening weekend of Ordinary Angels, a drama based on a the real life story of a hairdresser in Louisville, Kentucky helping a single dad raise the necessary funds to save his daughter’s life. Hilary Swank plays the lead, Sharon Stevens, while Alan Ritchson portrays the downtrodden but hopeful father, Ed Schmitt.
When the SAG-AFTRA strike began on July 14, 2023, it was assumed an agreement would be reached relatively quickly and the upcoming theatrical slate wouldn’t be effected much. But when the strike rolled into August and the September with very little progress, the box office started taking a beating more than they normally would in those post-summer blockbuster months.
Enter Taylor Swift as she announced that her concert film, The Eras Tour, would be released in theaters on October 13.
Studios put a great deal of thought and strategy into picking their film’s release date. For example, if you’re releasing a summer blockbuster action movie, you don’t want to pick the same opening day as Mission: Impossible. Additionally, you try to have breathing room from your big-budget competitors (Oppenheimer and Barbie being the exception).
So when Swift announces October 13 — 13 being her favorite number, by the way — Ordinary Angels wisely decided to move it’s release. Typically, given all the planning and logistics that go into it, uprooting your film should be frustrating to say the least. But its director, Jon Gunn, wasn’t phased by it all.
“Taylor Swift crashed our opening weekend,” Gunn told the Untitled Film Project Podcast. “I’m really grateful to her because we also were in the midst of an actor strike so we weren’t able to do press with our actors. And, when you have a two-time Oscar winner like Hilary and when you have Alan Ritchson on your cast, you want them to be able to do press.”
One of the best ways to get the general public to go see your film is with celebrity visits on the late night talk show circuit or through online media coverage. But, without its stars having the ability to promote it, the marketing impact would essentially come down to who’s seen the trailer prior to another movie and that’s simply not good enough in the wake of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part 1, Across the Spider-Verse, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as well as the aforementioned Oppenheimer and Barbie.
“I will forever be grateful to Taylor Swift,” Gunn said. “She gave us an extra few months, she got us to the other side of the strike so, when we landed in February, it felt like the perfect time. This is the right moment to release the movie.”
Ordinary Angels hits theaters everywhere on February 23.
“People are excited to see true stories, unique stories, fresh stories in theaters again,” Gunn added. “People are going out to see these communal experiences. This is an uplifting movie. It’s a fun, inspiring movie and I feel that it’s one that’s best shared with a crowd.”
Comedies, action and heart-felt dramas are infinitely better when seen in a crowded room. There’s an infectious energy in the laughter, the adrenaline and the shared emotional roller coaster of their respective genres that outweigh any response you’d have on your own.
“We didn’t time it all this way initially but I think it’s worked out for the best,” Gunn said.
Untitled Film Project 