Sarah Palin Documentary The Undefeated Adding New Theaters on Friday

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Well, apparently it’s a good time to be in the Sarah Palin business for Steve Bannon. Why? Because The Undefeated, the absolutely shellacked documentary he made about her, did well enough this past weekend to justify its expansion beyond 10 theaters thanks to a $6,513 per screen average. It had hoped to have an expansion on its platform release and now the first stages of it are seemingly in hand.

Tickets for the film have been moving at such a brisk pace that many journalists have been unable to see the film due to the demand. The trailer has been fairly popular online as well, apparently.

“Our objective is very simple: to bring this film to every market and every corner of the country,” Bannon has said of his controversial documentary.

This Friday, the film will open in additional AMC Theatres into the following cities: Tucson (AZ), West Palm Beach (FL), Milwaukee (WI), Charlotte (NC), and Ontario, (CA). The film will also expand into additional theaters in Atlanta and Phoenix while continuing to play in Dallas and Houston, Denver, Orlando, (FL) and Orange (CA).

“Given the audience response on our opening weekend, we now know we have a film that works. Our objective is very simple: to bring this film to every market and every corner of the country; starting with a limited theatrical release and then through an aggressive broader distribution strategy including streaming video, on-demand access and DVD,” Bannon told the Hollywood Reporter.

What does this mean? Palin is a controversial figure in American politics but packs crowds in no matter where she goes. But conservative-themed documentaries have bombed at the same rate as liberal ones, leaving this as something of an anomaly so far. A film has a strong chance of pulling in high per screen averages in limited release when you put it into territories familiar and friendly to the subject. You don’t see this platform starting in NYC, LA or Chicago for that reason. But the fact that it’s selling out this well, and averaging a per theater amount that’s quite remarkable so far, is somewhat impressive.

Does it have the legs to be able to draw the same numbers as Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore’s pseudo-documentary/hit piece? Or will it shrink away once the per screen averages, et al, all start to shrink with expansion? That’s the key in the next couple weeks as the film begins to expand on its platform. If this film can maintain or improve on its numbers, slowly but surely this could be a solid hit that strikes large numbers in the same territories that allowed The Passion of the Christ to become such a massive hit.

What do you think? Do you plan on seeing this? Or is the subject not your cup of tea? Let us know below!