Indies Flex As ‘Musk’ Doc, Chris Rock’s ‘Misty Green’ & Cannes Winner ‘Fjord’ Ignite Theatrical Runs — Specialty Preview — SkimNews
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- Alex Gibney's 'Musk' documentary debuts at Bleecker Street in 4 theaters (NY's Angelika and Lincoln Square, LA's AMC Century City and Burbank) with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score from 28 reviews and a 225-minute runtime that limits daily showtimes.
- The 'Musk' doc features a CGI avatar of Elon Musk speaking his own words, plus weekend Q&As with Ronan Farrow, Zoe Schiffer, and Ashley St. Clair — who refused a post-split settlement requiring an NDA; NYC Q&A screenings sold out and the film expands to ~300 screens next week.
- Cristian Mungiu's 'Fjord' launches via Neon at 4 NY/LA theaters at 91% RT Certified Fresh, marking Mungiu's second Palme d'Or, Neon's seventh consecutive Cannes win, and Romania's submission for Best International Feature.
- Chris Rock's 'Misty Green' opens at A24 in 6 theaters across NY and LA, starring first-time lead Rosalind Eleazar as an actress fighting for a career second act — Rock's first directorial effort in over a decade.
- Cohen Media Group's 'Winter of the Crow' with Lesley Manville debuts in 30+ markets across 63 theaters at 94% RT, based on a short story by Nobel/Booker Prize-winner Olga Tokarczuk, with Agnieszka Holland as executive producer.
- A wave of tech-critical indies is converging at the specialty box office: the Musk doc, Sony's wide-release Sorkin sequel 'The Social Reckoning' about Facebook, and Luca Guadagnino's December release 'Artificial' about OpenAI's Sam Altman, all arriving as AI dominates the national conversation ahead of midterms.
Why it matters: The Musk doc's CGI-avatar gimmick and Ashley St. Clair's on-camera NDA refusal give it publicity hooks far beyond standard documentary fare, fueling a 300-screen expansion and sold-out Q&As. Fjord simultaneously extends Neon's extraordinary seven-film Cannes winning streak and positions Romania in the international Oscar race — meaning this weekend's indie slate carries both commercial breakout potential and serious awards-season stakes.
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