More excellent news about Pariah, the coming-of-age drama about a Black lesbian teen in New York City. The critically acclaimed drama opened to very strong box office—over $20,000 per screen—in very limited engagement. The film opened in limited engagement in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco on December 28.
"Pariah did extremely well in its very limited platform release this weekend, making almost $81,500 in only 4 theaters nationwide," reports IndieWire.The film expands to more theaters on January 6th, and strong word of mouth and solid reviews should help it pull in some solid numbers."
Pariah's success is indebted to a series of "often overlooked but no less important documentaries and coming-out films released during the height of black lesbian filmmaking from 1991 to 1996," notes The Root.
Pariah was originally created as a short film by writer/director Dee Rees, who said that writing it encouraged her own coming out. The project was developed into a feature film and made its debut at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
Pariah features Adepero Oduye as the teen "butch" lesbian Alike discovering her sexual identity. One of the standout characters was Kim Wayans as the disapproving, gay-bashing "Christian" mother.
Oduye and Wayans discuss their roles to TheGrio. Watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...
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Pariah was amazing. I encourage everyone who's able to go see it and if it's not playing in your town, pressure Focus Films to bring it there! Glad to see it's been received so well, it's no surprise.
Posted by: Procrastination_Xtravaganza | 03 January 2012 at 15:47
I truly LOVED it! The entire cast was sensational. And Kim Wayans's multi-layered portrayal of the disapproving mother/wounded wife is TERRIFIC!
Posted by: CAM Jr | 03 January 2012 at 18:58
Cannot wait to see this movie this weekend!!
Posted by: kevjack | 04 January 2012 at 00:12
It's a great film. I had the pleasure of seeing it a week ago here in Atlanta. It's a must see!
Posted by: Bama Blues | 13 January 2012 at 19:53