HugeReviews.com PREVIEW

   On January 27, 2006 this film was simultaneously released in 32 theaters and on DVD; the Box Office for that first weekend was $70,664.  One must keep in mind that this film was released in just 32 theaters, it had no known actors in it, I never saw an advertisement for it here in the New York market, I ran a search and it's not playing in my area - New York! 

     The fact is that many films do not and are not expected to do well nationally.  The number of films made that go directly to DVD would surprise you.  Here is another fact, many of those films would do great in the theaters in certain areas of the country.  Let's take an fictitious low-budget, very R action movie.  It's a good film, but with no appeal for nationwide release.  But it does have appeal to hard-core action fan.  Specific big cities theaters would probably do well showing this film, while DVD rentals would do well with action fans in other parts of the country.

     All we know about plot in Steven Soderbergh's Bubble at this time is this: Residents of a small town in Ohio unravel a murder mystery.  In fact, the film is being filmed in Belpre, Ohio (Southeastern Ohio, just across the Ohio River from West Virginia).  Belpre is a small town, about 6,000 people according to the 2000 census.

THE BIG NEWS:  However, the big news is not about the film, it's about the groundbreaking decision that Director/Writer/Producer Steven Soderbergh has made regarding Bubble's release (which, Bubble's Release, that is, would make a passable movie title in itself).  It was announced on April 29th that Soderbergh has made a deal with 2929 Entertainment company (through its HDNet Films production arm) to release Bubble simultaneously in theaters, on DVD and for Pay Per View.  As you can guess from the name, HDNet Films, the movie will be shot in High Definition. 

     Mr. Soderbergh and 2929 Entertainment have contracted for a total of 6 movies to be released in this manner and produced in 1080i high-definition format through HDNet Films. 

     Bubble is not a blockbuster film by any stretch of the imagination.  It has a three-week production schedule and will have a mostly non-professional cast.  Another interesting fact is that Bubble and the five other movies in this deal will all be shot using high-definition electronic cameras.

     HugeReviews.com intends to monitor this experiment, the reason for which being touted by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, the two entrepreneurs who own 2929 Entertainment, is to give movie viewers more choice.  One could also make the case that, since a certain number of people prefer seeing movies on DVD or on cable, this will have a film presented to them in one advertising campaign.  A savings for smaller-budget films, for sure.  I don't think you'll see this done with blockbusters for some time.  Too many people love going to the movies, not just seeing them.