Songstress SZA bought out the entire theater in New Jersey in order for moviegoers watch The Woman King for free this past weekend.
The 32-year-old “All the Stars” singer, who was born in St. Louis as Solána Imani Rowe, impassionately pleaded with her fellow urbanites to get to the theater to see the film about female African warriors who defended their kingdom.
JERSEY I BOUGHT OUT THE THEATER TO SEE THE WOMAN KING TODAY FOR FREE AT 5:30 PM!! PLEASE GO SEEE ITTTT ! pic.twitter.com/vzpYBAou65
— SZA (@sza) September 24, 2022
The movie stars Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis and was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood who is best known for bringing the world Love & Basketball.
The Woman King surprised industry analysts when it hauled in $19 million during its opening weekend to claim the top spot on the weekend of Sept. 17-19, 2022.
Davis explained to Variety the universal appeal of this epic film.
“There was a sense that our stories aren’t universal and can’t reach the White man or woman or the Hispanic man or woman,” Davis told the outlet. “I feel human stories are for everyone, not just Black consumption.”
Davis was unconcerned with the critics who decried the fact that most of the movie was fictionalized for dramatic purposes.
“If we just told a history lesson, which we very well could have, that would be a documentary,” Davis said.
