"Witnesses" Smashes the Competition in iTunes Trailer Downloads

[¥akaSteelhead]

[Kishkumen]

Genius.

[Lem]

What certainly surprised me is that the director of the film, in a recent interview, referred to this film as "based on" a true story. He stated that, or course, certain elements were dramatized (i.e. not true) in order to move the story along. How that fits in with the producer's insistence that this is in every respect a true story, meant to bolster the absolute truthfulness of the witnesses' testimony, is beyond me.

[Dr LOD]

My money is on someone or a group being paid to view the trailer and share it among themselves over and over again. I don't see an appetite out there for religious "theatrical films" unless done by someone who the public knows will be making fun of religion or exposing cult aspects of it or where religion is not the main topic.

However, good luck DCP.

It is being heavily promoted throughout CES. In the Happy Valley seminaries, and institutes, one of my children reported that the teacher had the whole class look it up at the same time on each of their devices. As well as encouraging them to post links on social media.

So this ranking is a bit artificial. Like Lamanites.

[Dr Exiled]

My money is on someone or a group being paid to view the trailer and share it among themselves over and over again. I don't see an appetite out there for religious "theatrical films" unless done by someone who the public knows will be making fun of religion or exposing cult aspects of it or where religion is not the main topic.

However, good luck DCP.

It is being heavily promoted throughout CES. In the Happy Valley seminaries, and institutes, one of my children reported that the teacher had the whole class look it up at the same time on each of their devices. As well as encouraging them to post links on social media.

So this ranking is a bit artificial. Like Lamanites.

Well there you have it. Also, in their defense, I am sure other movies are marketed this way.

I guess we will see in a few weeks how this movie theatrical film fares. It'll quickly go from screens to a downloadable version to then being sold exclusively on interpreter and other like sites. I just don't think the public, except for maybe older members hungering for the halcyon days when the statistics were massaged and no one knew any better, has a desire to see this type of movie theatrical film (corrected it DCP). My 80 year old parents, yes. My still active nieces and nephews, probably not, unless in a church setting.

[Kishkumen]

I hope it is available for online streaming soon, as I will be nowhere in the vicinity of a theater in which this film will play.

[Dr Moore]

It shows #25 today. 3 spots behind F9, the next installment of Fast and Furious. That trailer has been out a long time, but it's still going to be a huge film and I literally can't wait for it.

Skeptical view: the theatrical release slate right now is somewhere between pathetic and non-existent. We're all waiting for a massive backlog of films that keep getting pushed (damnit).

Optimistic view: perfect time to release Witnesses to wider release. A lower bar is just as effective as a higher jump.

[Sledge]

Boy, this comment really seemed to have gotten under his skin. He went so far as to *BAN* Chapstick! Just look at what did him in:

Daniel, “But I can sense the pleasure that you take in the thought that the film might fail.”

Ouch. I bet that stung like a dagger between the ribs. Indeed, he gives Chapstick the walking papers:

Strike three.

I would have banned “Chapstick” too—and immediately—for that. “B***hurt” is a highly offensive gay slur, and I certainly would not allow that on my blog or forum.

[Gadianton]

"Witnesses" is catchy as a title with a Western look and it has a great hero shot of the guys. If a Gentile out there has no prior knowledge, he or she will assume it's an action-packed western that has something to do with witnesses of a big crime or conspiracy out on the range somewhere. If you had to pick a movie by the poster board alone, I'd pick witnesses over pretty much anything else on that list. The question is, 3/4 of the way through the trailer, what are people thinking? Once they realize it's not even close to what they were thinking it's about.

[Gadianton]

Ouch. I bet that stung like a dagger between the ribs. Indeed, he gives Chapstick the walking papers:

Do we know what constitutes a strike? Is criticizing "Witnesses" really grounds for getting banned over there?