May 7, 2016

Has anyone seen the Korean movie "Bling" in US theaters this weekend-

Momentum Pictures released the South Korean animated feature Bling in ten U.S. theaters on Friday (a complete list of theaters is below). The film earned some attention earlier this spring when Google Play streamed it for free through its service.

The film, about a theme park mechanic whose plans to marry the girl of his dreams is thwarted by a super villain and his robot army, was produced by Korean animation studio Digiart (Garfield's Pet Force, Garfield's Fun Fest) and vfx shop Digital Idea, in association with Celsius Entertainment.

It's not entirely clear what Momentum's game plan is for the film. Why release an undistinguished family film into just ten theaters- Is it some kind of contractual obligation- Did the Korean producers guarantee a U.S. release to their backers- Is it some kind of Oscar-qualifying run- I don't have any answers, but it's representative of the current global animation boom where lots of oddball animated features are being produced with no clear audience or goal in mind. If there's no space for Ratchet & Clank in the American marketplace, Bling will have an even harder time attracting positive attention of any kind.

Bling was directed by Kyung Ho Lee and Wonjae Lee, and written by Kyung Ho Lee, Hyunjoog Kim, and Chris Denk (Alpha and Omega, Happily N'Ever After 2). The English voice cast features the voices of Taylor Kitsch, Carla Gugino, James Woods, Tom Green, Jennette McCurdy, Jon Heder, and Jason Mewes.

Here's the complete list of theaters showing Bling this weekend:

Los Angeles: Arena Cinema Atlanta: North Dekalb Mall Boston: Liberty Tree Mall Chicago: Streets of Woodfield Dallas: Stonebriar Mall 24 Denver: Cinema Savers 6 Houston: Gulf Pointe Kansas City , MO: Independence 20 San Francisco/Oakland: Deer Valley Stadium 16 Tampa: Veterans Expressway