Moonlight will expand to 1,500 theaters amid Oscar win

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Though MOONLIGHT’s shocking best picture win will forever walk hand-in-hand with the faux pas that led into it, it should nonetheless be remembered as a worthy victor. Between the news coverage and the impact the Oscars has on mainstream moviegoer's decision making, MOONLIGHT is now more recognizable than ever, and studio A24 wants to give audiences one more shot at seeing the movie in theaters, so that it can be seen the way it was meant to be (and that’s the only reason *wink wink*).

The studio announced it would be expanding the Oscar-winning drama to about 1,500 theaters across the country, up from the 585 it was at last weekend. The expansion will give it it’s largest theatrical release to date, exceeding the 1,104 theaters it was at during the final weekend of January when it was nominated for its eight Oscars.

Though the movie came out to buy/rent on Blu-ray and digital services yesterday, this practice of expanding the best picture winner is not uncommon. Last year’s winner, SPOTLIGHT, expanded to a little over 1,200 screens and added a good $5 million to its final total. That amount may not be a ton when it comes to box office total, but considering MOONLIGHT’s $1.5 million budget an extra few million in the bank ain’t too shabby.

If you didn’t get the high-concept “wink” from before, basically what I’m getting at is that this is clearly A24 capitalizing on the big win, which is smart. The movie will never be more popular than it is now, so why not try to get more people to pay and see it on the big screen? It’s a beautiful film in terms of look and content, and rightly should be seen on a theater screen. Plus, going back to the budget, if A24 makes another $1.5 million in profits, that’s money for another MOONLIGHT-level film. I’m down for that.

Be sure to check out MOONLIGHT if you havent seen it yet on Blu-ray, digital or in theaters. Basically you have no excuse.