Boots Riley has revealed that his movie Sorry to Bother You will not be getting an international release.
The movie has been a hit with critics and audiences thus far, with $15M made at the box office despite a limited release in 1,050 American theaters.
Despite that, it won’t be given a wider release from distributors, and director Riley has claimed it’s because it’s a “Black movie.”
He posted on his Twitter account: “Even tho we’re outperforming a gang of other movies, distributors r claiming ‘Black movies’ don’t do well internationally and are treating it as such. There’r [sic] films that bombed here, that they’re distributing. Let ’em know wsup [sic].”
But Riley added: “We’re still fighting to make it happen.”
The comedy sees an African American telemarketer — played by Get Out star Lakeith Stanfield — begin using a White-sounding voice on the phone in order to become more successful.
Many of Riley’s social media followers jumped to the movie’s defense and pointed to the huge success of the likes of Black Panther and Moonlight in recent times as evidence of their being an international audience for films led by a predominantly Black cast
Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster Black Panther — which starred Chadwick Boseman as the titular hero — was a hit at the box office, with a total haul of $1.3 billion.
