I know 1970 was approaching the autumn of roadshows but I am still surprised that Fox chose to not give it the prestigious treatment in the US. I know in most foreign markets Patton was a roadshow. It was also touting their Dimension 150 process. Anyone have any insight?
shareNot sure what you mean. PATTON was roadshowed in a number of large US cities for a five month maximum roadshow run. It is true that it wasn't as widely roadshowed as earlier films, but it was given the 70mm treatment in around 40 or so theatres. In most cases it wasn't shown on D-150 screens. Fox tried out a new strategy by limiting the reserved seat engagements so that standard theatres could get continuous runs starting in late June and spreading throughout August of 1970 for a film that started roadshows in February. In Los Angeles, for example, it played the Pantages for a few months, continued its 70mm engagement as a move-over to the Pacific Beverly Hills. It's first D-150 showing in LA wouldn't come until the end of summer when it played at the Egyptian as a continuous engagement (It also played in D-150 at the Camelot Theatre in Palm Springs). It also played as a 70mm roadshow in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego (on a Cinerama screen), San Francisco, San Jose, and a number of others.
Look for back issues of Boxoffice Magazine from 1970. It had an article talking about the Fox strategy of this film.
Thank you for that info. I saw Patton at the Rivoli but thought it was continuous. Good chance it started roadshow and then went continuous later in the run at the same theater
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