Free Screening of ‘Karate Kid, Part II’
Calling it “our way of thanking America,” Columbia Pictures and film producer Jerry Weintraub announced Monday that they are holding one free screening of their hit “Karate Kid, Part II” on Friday.
“We wanted to do something for the Statue of Liberty weekend celebration,” Weintraub said. “Pete Sealey (head of marketing at Columbia) was all for it. We dreamed it up together.”
“Karate Kid II,” which led the weekend box-office chart with $8.9 million, will be shown at a special 10 a.m. screening Friday in “about 95%” of the 1,300 theaters currently running the film, Weintraub said. Specially prepared TV commercials, airing Wednesday and Thursday, will announce the first-come, first-served Friday screening and participating theaters will be listed in newspaper ads.
“We’ve got a Japanese-American star, an Italian-American star and a Jewish-American producer on this movie,” said Weintraub, whose grandparents immigrated here from Russia and Austria. “We’ve all had families come through there (by the Statue of Liberty).”
He estimates the cost of the free screening--closed cash drawers plus the extra advertising expenses--at about $3 million.
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