Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers” has had a magnificent box-office run so far, after two weekends on screens, the acclaimed, New York Magazine article inspired drama has taken $62M in the US and $72M worldwide, however, its impressive tally won’t be getting added to In Malaysia after the country deemed the film too explicit for audiences.
Those who have seen the film will no doubt agree that the sexualized content in the film is actually rather light, so Squareboxpictures, the films international distributor may still hold some hope of getting the film a Malaysian release, especially considering the country’s film board has a history of backtracking on these type of decisions (Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!” and “Beauty and the Beast”).
The films studio STX won’t be hugely concerned by the news, considering the highest grosser of last weekend in the Malaysian market was Johannes Roberts “47 Metres Down: Uncaged” with just $940,000. They will also expect the film to carry on making money here and there as its star, Jennifer Lopez looks to have a foothold in the supporting actress race for the upcoming Academy Awards in February.
Gyllenhaal says women face systemic barriers in an industry that may not value the kinds of films they want to make. Roy Price’s response? Watch “The Bride.”