The makers behind a movie telling the true story of convicted abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell have revealed that many theatres across the country are canceling showings of their hard-hitting abortion movie despite the huge demand from those wishing to see the film.
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“Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer” has been a huge hit on the big screen, taking a 97% approval rating on Google and grossing over $2 million on just 668 screenings of the film, vastly exceeding box office expectations. But many theaters keen to stay away from such a sensitive and politically-charged subject have reportedly continued to pull the movie from the big screens.
According to Townhall, some 188 theaters have now dropped the film without any clear explanation as to why. Such maltreatment is, however, of no big surprise to the movie’s makers, who faced an arduous battle to release their pro-life project in the first place.
“I can tell you from my experience in 15 years of releasing movies independently, we’re in uncharted territories,” the film’s marketing director, John Sullivan, told Daily Wire. “It is an impacted fall, no doubt about it, but the fact that we’ve been dropped from theaters where the movie is the number 6 or number 9 movie is just something you don’t see. It’s hard not to believe it isn’t about the content of the movie.”
He continued:
“We have theaters that are dropping that are top theaters, that are performing very well. We’ve been the number 6 in a 15-plex and it gets dropped this week. We’ve been number 9 in a 30-plex and we’re getting dropped this week. There are about 15 theaters like that where typically you would not get dropped. I do recognize it’s a crowded marketplace – ‘Halloween’ is going to be a huge opening but it’s very odd to me that you’re within the top 10 and you’re getting dropped out of a movie house.”
“Gosnell” producer Phelim McAleer took to Facebook to explain some of the issues the team are facing in the fair showing of this important film, even noting that, shockingly, theater staff have been reportedly lying to customers about the film’s availability in order to suppress its performance.
IMPORTANT We are getting reports of Theaters not selling tickets to Gosnell Movie or misleading customers – telling them it has been cancelled. Also people are reporting problems buying tickets online. This is an attempt by the establishment to suppress the Gosnell Movies. Let us know your experiences and we will take action. See video below
Posted by Gosnell Movie on Saturday, October 13, 2018
“People are saying that they are going to the box office and being told that the films isn’t being shown when it is,” McAleer said. “We are being told that people are also not able to buy tickets online. Some theaters are trying to cut this down, trying to exclude people from going to see it.”
Thank you – please encourage groups to go – we need to show theaters they have to keep it open – Hollywood wants this movie to fail – lets make sure it doesn’t https://t.co/LaSHJBQIz2
— Phelim McAleer (@PhelimMcAleer) October 21, 2018
Dean Cain, the actor who plays one of the detectives tasked with investigating the mass murderer, told LifeZette that he had “never experienced anything like this before.”
“So many folks have become so polarized these days here in the United States that they instantly demonize anyone with whom they have any disagreement,” he said. “It happens on both sides, and I find it ridiculous.”
Half of the nearly full theater to see @GosnellMovie today! How often does an #indiefilm get this *over a week* after premiering? @annmcelhinney @PhelimMcAleer @yesnicksearcy @RealDeanCain pic.twitter.com/miGgiaQDK1
— Liberty Pike (@Liberty_Pike) October 22, 2018
The film tells the story of Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia abortion doctor who was convicted on three counts of first-degree murder back in 2013. He became notorious for slicing the spinal cords of newborn babies after they were born alive during botched abortion attempts.
The movie only narrowly made it to screen after the judge presiding over Gosnell’s trial, Jeffrey Mineheart, sued to block its release, fearing he was portrayed as part of “Philadelphia’s liberal corrupt government.” The lawsuit further contended that the authors and filmmakers portrayed Minehart “as a villain in their story of the righteous versus the wicked” when, in fact, he’s a “former prosecutor with an impeccable reputation for honesty, integrity and fairness.”
Due to Hollywood’s lack of cooperation, and in order to raise the $2.3 million required to produce the film, the team put together an incredibly successful crowdfunding campaign.
“Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer was one of the most successfully crowdfunded films in history. It was an amazing experience for us,” the film’s producers explained on the movie’s website.
“Almost 30,000 people donated over $2.3m in 45 days. When it ended it was the most successful crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo website. We want to thank all of our funders who helped make this project such a success. We literally could not have done it without you. This is your movie.”