Spike Lee’s ‘Chi-raq’ To Arrive December 4th As Amazon’s First Feature Film

On December 4th, Amazon Studios will begin its foray into American movie theaters. On that day, according to Deadline, it will release Chi-raq, a Spike Lee Joint that will see a limited theatrical release before ultimately emerging on Amazon’s streaming video service.

Chi-raq, which Amazon picked up in July 2015, will retell the classic Greek play Lysistrata within Chicago’s infamously dangerous South Side. A star-studded cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Teyronnah Parris, John Cusack, Wesley Snipes, Nick Cannon, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson and D.B. Sweeney.

This will be Lee’s second film in a row to utilize an unconventional release strategy. His last picture, Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus, was funded by a $1.4 million Kickstarter push and distributed via Vimeo On Demand before coming to theaters.

Subscribe for daily Tubefilter Top Stories

Subscribe

Roadside Attractions

and Lionsgate will handle Chi-raq’s theatrical distribution, and Deadline says the film will come to most major US cities. In its limited run, it may not be a box office smash, but Amazon surely has other goals in mind. Just as Netflix has brought eyeballs to Idris Elba film Beasts of No Nation by promptly making it available online, Amazon can bring viewers to Chi-raq by distributing it on the Amazon Instant Video platform.

However, Amazon’s strategy is at least slightly different from Netflix’s, because it seems as if Chi-raq will be a theatrical exclusive for some period of time before it becomes available online. While the film’s December 4th release date is now public knowledge, Amazon has not yet said when it will arrive online.

Share
Published by
Sam Gutelle

Recent Posts

As Bluesky adds more videos, YouTube adds more Bluesky-style custom feeds

YouTube is factoring user preferences into its video recommendations. Earlier this year, the video hub launched…

15 hours ago

As OnlyFans celebrates its tenth birthday, it counts more than 5,000 seven-figure earners

These days, massive OnlyFans creators don't make the news as frequently as they did during peak COVID,…

16 hours ago

Meta is paying over $17 billion to settle social media lawsuits. What changes can users expect?

Meta has agreed to pay billions of dollars to resolve its legal dispute with U.S.…

18 hours ago

The BBC says it’ll pay £50,000 for YouTube-first documentaries

The BBC wants original documentaries to publish on its YouTube channel--and it's willing to pay…

19 hours ago

Instagram says that its First Draft feature can edit a Reel in under ten seconds

Instagram is taking on the tedium of video editing. A process that can be laborious can…

2 days ago

What’s hot on TikTok LIVE? You can find out through a new newsletter.

TikTok has a plan to make live streaming less intimidating for new users, and that plan…

2 days ago