 We had to give our opinions in writing but there was so much incoherence and the plot was just flat." On Allocine, another one tells a similar experience. "The film is not finished yet. It's in post-production so you could see it was not finished. From what I could hear, it was not really liked by the other viewers."
First piece of information : the film is not ready anymore. Maybe it never was, or marbe it went back to the editing room after the Los Angeles screening. Reviews are in both case very mixed and it could have been two very different cuts of the film. Second piece of information : a release date for France appears on Studio37 website : August 22nd 2012. Still no news about a release in the U.S.
August 23rd, 2012 - The film is released in Russia.
The film was not released in France on the 22nd of August but it was released in some part of Eastern Europe during summer of 2012, and most noticeably in Russia on the 23rd of August. Why that peculiar strategy? According to various sources, the film would be a bigger hit in Russia if there were no European or American bad reviews before its release there. However, it did not prevent the film from tanking at the box office with only $6 million in Russia (57th film in 2012 at the Russian box-office).
September 27th, 2012 - Blu-Ray released in Russia.
Following its theatrical release in Russia, the Blu-Ray is available there but only with the Russian audio. A clever trick to avoid non-Russian speakers to download and see the film prior to its release in other parts of the world. A clever trick yes, but also a dangerous one when it comes to the "life" of the film in theatres. No explanations were given regarding this strategy but we have to give them the benefice of the doubt. After all, they are the professionals who wanted to show Hollywood how blockbusters were made in Europe.
October 5th, 2012 - "Upside down" on the road to the Academy Awards?
"Upside down"'s release is officially pushed back to December 10th, 2012 and English website Hey U Guys seems to think that it could be because "Upside down" eyes Academy Awards noms. Here is a film that nobody saw in its final form and yet, it has been announced at Cannes, or in various festivals and now the Academy Awards.
October 26th, 2012 - "Upside down" to be converted to 3D?
How to attract moviegoers to watch a film that has apparently great special effects but was already released in some parts of the world and is available on the Internet? 3D! That's the latest trick in the sleeve of the producers (or distributors whoever are in charge of this mess they call a film), as announced in an article published on website "The 3D company".
The film was not specifically made for 3D so it needs to be converted. Even if it is a costly procedure, this could be a way to gain a bit more money when the film hits the theatres, 3D tickets being more expensive than regular tickets. As expected, the release is pushed back again, some time in March 2013 for the U.S.
December 18th, 2012 - An English version of the film is available online.
The 2013 release date takes a serious hit when an English copy of the film leaks to some torrents websites. In a couple of days, thousands of people download the film that has been so long in the making, ruining for good any chance the film had at making a profitable run in theatres. The responsibility of the leak falls onto the Motion Picture Association of America that as a result "started an internal investigation on its practices" according to Wikipedia.
The real question after this leak lies with the cut of the film that has been leaked. On a French forum, an insider reveals on December 30th 2012 that "a first cut has been released in some Eastern countries. But the producers were not happy with it so the film is back to the editing room since. They do not know how to edit it apparently." In a nutshell, there is a cut that has been released in August, a leaked cut (identical to the Russian one?) in English, a French cut still in the editing room and a 3D conversion. It's the end of 2012 and one thing is clear about this film : it is a complete mess.
February 16th, 2013 - The French poster and trailer are released.
After the film being pushed back from April 17th to May 1st, the French trailer and poster are published and the film looks the same except for one particular thing : the colors are livelier. No more sepia tone, the film has colors and it shows them even if it looks like some teal and orange colors that Hollywood loves so much for its blockbusters.
In the US, the distribution company decided to change a bit the art of the poster making it bleaker and more desperate. However, it is strange to see that both in France and in the US, even on the official website, there is absolutely no mention of the 3D version. The 3D signs are not displayed on the posters. What happened there? Another mystery to add to the very long list of mysteries surrounding this film.
February 28th, 2013 - "Upside down" is released in Italy... in both 2D and 3D.
This really is the gift that keeps on giving as one visitor informs us that "Upside down" was released in Italy in both 2D and 3D. So the 3D version exists but it will not be released in France and US for reasons we don't know. A quick round-up of european releases show that the film was or will be released without the 3D version in Spain, Belgium and Turkey. No release dates have been set up for United Kingdom and Germany.
I have never seen such a poorly distributed film. Remember when the producers were saying that money was the big problem of the film? It will be now as of the 28th of February 2013, the film only grossed $ 9 million. Its only shot at being a hit would be to be released wide in the US. Well, even that was messed up.
March 15th, 2013 - "Upside down" is released in the United States.
Apparently, "Upside down" does not deserve to be released wide in the US. Instead, it only made it to 11 theatres. 11 theatres in the whole country whereas it was shown in 241 theatres in France. During its first US week end, it grossed $30 000, out of its estimated-$60 million-budget. Total, it grossed a bit more than $100 000 in the US and $15 million worldwide.
The big blockbuster from Europe tanked even more than its producers probably thought it would but they had it coming. Back in 2011, it would probably have made a decent run but after everything that's happened, there was no way this whole thing could have ended well. Not a single interview Solanas made talked about the delays. All that Solanas said was that the shooting was a complete nightmare, because of the money-related problems. But you also have to wonder what went through the head of the producers and distributors to change and change again that film that is in the end probably not as different as it was back in 2011. The true story behind the making of that film would be a great one to read and I personnaly hope that one day we will know everything about that story. But wait, there's more.
May 5th, 2013 - "Upside down", 3D and Blu-Ray release.
Between "Upside down" and 3D, there's a love-hate relationship going on. Some countries had a 3D theatrical release, more had not. In a review of the film by the French Blog Orange (a branch of Orange, so a sister company of Studio37, one of the production companies of the film), the film is hailed as a great one (well, that figures) but it also says this : "Solanas chose to shoot his film in 2D because he believed that 3D could tarnish and ultimately pervert the image". Well, that's not a really nice thing to say when your film is being released to 3D and it probably shows that maybe the 3D conversion was not Solanas's choice.
It gets better. The always well-informed JimSturgessOnline announced at the same time of the review that two Blu-Ray editions of the film would be released in the US at the end of June 2013. The first edition will feature the DVD and Blu-Ray of the film and the other edition the 2D... and 3D Blu-Rays of the film. That's extraordinary. Why bother release the 3D version for the very big screens in theatres when you can sell it for people to watch on their smaller screens. What an extraordinary story of failures and succ... well no, just failures.
Thing is, it's really not a very good film.
Thanks for posting the story of this film's distribution. I remember the trailer being released and then pulled in 2012. I am watching it now.
Since I saw the trailer back in 2012 I was excited to see it. The story seemed very intriguing. But sadly no release in an city near me in the US. But then a savior, Netflix, comes out of nowhere with it about a month ago. I thought to myself, "Wasn't this just in theaters?" After that, I thought it wasn't a terrible movie. Believe me, this year had a bunch of terrible movies, Lone Ranger, Turbo anyone?
It's not a