Hollywood Now Paying Attention to the Audience

True Grit, the latest Coen brothers film that debuted in theaters on Christmas, is a hit. Why? One of the film making brothers Joel Coen tells the New York Times he has no clue. But the paper’s reporter Michael Cieply writes about two possibilities.

The first – The middle of the country, which is often neglected in artistic matters, is fueling enthusiasm for the film. “While it has performed best in a pair of theaters in Los Angeles and New York, its Top 20 markets have included Oklahoma City; Plano, Tex.; and Olathe, Kan., according to Rob Moore, Paramount’s vice chairman,” he writes.

The second – The PG-13 rating means extended families are going to see it.

True Grit‘s audience appeal may lead to a few shiny statues as awards season gets under way. To increase Oscar awards show viewing (it jumped 15 percent last year to 42 million, according to the story), the Academy has brought the total number of Best Picture nominees up to 10 and has included films that won over audiences at the box office as well as critics, the story says. Critics didn’t roundly embrace True Grit, but the receipts show that the viewing public is. That includes us here at PRNewser. We give it four out of five stars.

[Image via TrueGritMovie.com]

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