Canadian distributor Blackwatch Releasing is straining at the leash over distribution plans for a staggered rollout of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which sold out three theaters in Toronto in its debut last weekend, the Toronto Star reported today (Tuesday). (It opened in seven other theaters in the country.)

"We clearly caught lightning in a bottle,'' Andy Myers, executive vice-president of Blackwatch, told the newspaper. Tony Cianciotta, vice president of film acquisitions for exhibitor Cineplex Odeon, observed that in some cases, it's a good thing to see patrons turned away at the box office, "'cause as they say, 'For every one you turn away, two come back.' ... But from a buyer's point-of-view, I want it now."

Source: Studio Briefing