UPDATE: It looks like it was leaked by accident on the Microsoft Store. It’s no longer available. Must have a been a hiccup on their part. What I gather happened is that A24 likely postponed the digital release by a few weeks, but Microsoft was unaware of that. The same thing happened with 2022’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
EARLIER: What exactly is going on with A24’s “Sing Sing”? A few months ago, pundits were saying it was the top contender for Best Picture, and then it completely disappeared from theaters, with barely an adequate rollout. Last week, A24 acquired “The Brutalist,” and many saw this as a sign that they were shifting their awards aspirations towards that film.
Now comes the news that “Sing Sing” has quietly dropped on VOD. There was no advanced warning, no advertising, or heads up. For a film that has the necessary critical and punditry backing to be an Oscar horse, this is all just really baffling to me.
A24’s unusual theatrical rollout of “Sing Sing” came to an end last month. It lasted about eight weeks, and peaked at 200 theaters. It came to the point where A24 started offering free screenings of the film at AMC theaters across the U.S. Some saw this as a desperate attempt to get word of mouth going for the film.
The result is that “Sing Sing” has only grossed $1.6M during its total domestic run. Compared to another summer indie critical darling, Focus’ “Didi,” which has earned almost $4M, and you start to wonder where the audience was for “Sing Sing.”
The prison drama quietly premiered at TIFF last year. I wasn’t much of a fan, but reviews have been very good (84 on Metacritic). The film is all about the healing power of art. It’s a social conscious drama, manufactured to tug at the heart strings, effectively taking a page out of “The Shawshank Redemption” and making the case for the incarcerated, but in instructive rather than poignant fashion.
“Sing Sing” tells the story of an incarcerated theater troupe that puts on a play as part of a rehabilitation program. Greg Kwedar (“Jockey”) directed the film and co-wrote it with Clint Bentley. It will probably get Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin Oscar nominated in their respective acting categories, and the film might, maybe, sneak in a Best Picture nomination as well.