Peter Gould at "Our Hero, Balthazar" premiere. Steven/AFF-USA/Shutterstock He was warned that Gen Z won’t support movies in theaters. But Peter Gold, a 26-year-old newbie film distributor, was determined to prove them wrong.
“We need more movies that really speak to Gen Z,” Gold tells Page Six Hollywood. “That market will come back. It’s about creating more of an experience around eventizing cinema.”
His first swing, the black comedy “Our Hero, Balthazar,” via his WG Pictures, debuted March 27 on one screen at the Regal Union Square in New York and nabbed the highest per-theatre average in the country with $33,138, making it No. 1 in the specialty box office. Hollywood should take note. WG Pictures pulled off the feat without spending a single dollar on paid media and instead relied entirely on social media to drive awareness.
It doesn’t hurt to have a film whose producers and stars boast a combined 40 million social media followers like producer Halsey and actor Noah Centineo. The film’s core principals, which also includes Jaeden Martell, Caleb Simpson, Asa Butterfield and Pippa Knowles, all worked for scale and delivered more than 30 million organic social impressions, thanks to their non-stop posting.
Peter Gold, Avan Jogia, Halsey and Oscar Boyson attending the premiere of “Our Hero, Balthazar.” Evan Agostini/Invision/AP But massive followings don’t always translate into box office manna. Otherwise, last year’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” with Jennifer Lopez and her 245 million Instagram followers would have earned a lot more than $1.7 million worldwide — a dismal showing for a movie that bowed in 1,331 theaters and enjoyed a traditional marketing campaign from Lionsgate.
WG’s strategy prioritized organic, culturally relevant activations, including a sold-out rave at New York’s Museum of Sex, an immersive gallery experience with Jet Le Parti and a Third Space-hosted event, all designed to convert awareness into actual ticket buying.
Directed by Oscar Boyson, a Safdie Brothers acolyte, “Our Hero, Balthazar” offers angsty teens a movie with some “Heathers” vibes. (According to the logline, the titular protagonist is “a wealthy teenager [who] tries to gain his crush’s attention by posting videos pleading for stricter gun laws. As an online troll begins mocking his videos, he becomes convinced the troll is a mass shooter and travels to Texas to confront him.”)
Every distributor passed on the movie, including the edgy ones like A24 and Neon, so Gold, a producer on “Our Hero, Balthazar,” decided to team with indie producer Brad Wyman (“Monster”) to launch a distribution company that could release it as well as others like it.
Wyman is the elder statesmen of the WG Pictures duo, to be sure. “I think he’s like 60,” says Gold with a shrug. But they have a shared vision.
“Let’s distribute the movies that everyone else is scared to,” Gold adds. “This movie takes a lot of risks, and I think we that’s exciting for a new distribution company. So, there’s an opportunity for a newer, edgier distribution company that really says something.”
The movie opens in L.A. on Friday and will expand the following weekend. Given its David amongst Goliaths backstory, Page Six Hollywood will be keeping our eyes on its trajectory.
