To Leslie heads back to theaters following Andrea Riseborough's surprise Oscar nomination

The low-key indie film provided one of yesterday's biggest shocks as this year's Academy Awards contenders were announced

To Leslie heads back to theaters following Andrea Riseborough's surprise Oscar nomination
Andrea Riseborough Photo: Jason Mendez

Following Andrea Riseborough’s shocking Oscar nomination for her performance in To Leslie, which initially made $27,000 during its quiet theatrical run last fall, the film will be heading back to cinemas now that there is renewed interest in the project. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it will be rereleased in “approximately six” locations across North America, followed by additional theaters in the UK.

While the top Oscars contenders are typically promoting their work for months ahead of awards season, the English-born Birdman actor only began campaigning in earnest weeks ago, just as voting for the nominations began. Word-of-mouth support and social posts from Hollywood stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Minnie Driver, and Demi Moore cropped up seemingly overnight, and it was enough to score Riseborough a slot during yesterday’s announcement of this year’s nominees. To Leslie’s recognition may be a win for low-key releases that don’t have huge awards budgets behind them, but the campaign has also been criticized for seemingly interfering with Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler’s chances at making the cut.

Directed by Michael Morris, To Leslie follows Riseborough as a Texan single mother and onetime lottery winner struggling to reconnect with her son. The film was distributed by Momentum Pictures, which co-star Marc Maron slammed for “gross incompetence” in playing the awards game. (In the infinite multiverse, somewhere out there is a timeline where Gwyneth Paltrow and Edward Norton rallied to get Aubrey Plaza an Oscar nomination for Black Bear.)

While The Hollywood Reporter does not mention where the handful of theaters To Leslie is being rereleased in are, more people will soon get to decide for themselves whether it’s a small film with a giant heart on the big screen.

 
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