Keanu Reeves' directorial debut “Man of Tai Chi” earns $1.5 million in VOD

PanARMENIAN.Net - Keanu Reeves' directorial debut Man of Tai Chi has earned $1.5 million in VOD since its Sept. 27 launch, The Hollywood Reporter said.

RADiUS-TWC is opening the action pic, which also stars Reeves, in 102 U.S. theaters Friday. RADiUS, which is The Weinstein Co.'s boutique label, bought the film at Cannes in May. The $1.5 million was earned across digital, cable and satellite platforms.

The film follows a young martial artist whose unparalleled Tai Chi skills land him in the lucrative underworld fight club. It also stars Tiger Hu Chen and Iko Uwais.

RADiUS has had some major success in the VOD sphere in the past. The company's first release, 2012's Bachelorette, earned more than $8 million on VOD. It became the highest-grossing pre-or simultaneous release on-demand title at that time. More recently, RADiUS released Nicholas Winding Refn’s Ryan Gosling-starrer Only God Forgives day and date in limited release in theaters along with VOD.

The disclosure of the VOD numbers for Man of Tai Chi comes just days after John Sloss made a public announcement encouraging distributors to release their VOD numbers to a public, a practice that companies such as IFC Films and Magnolia have been loath to report so far.

Sloss announced that theatrical and VOD grosses for the films that go through Cinetic's affiliated distribution entity, Producers Distribution Agency, will be posted every Monday on Cinetic's sister company, FilmBuff. He released the results for Escape From Tomorrow, the feature film that was shot without permission at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. In its first two weeks, the film has earned nearly as much on VOD and other digital platforms ($120,560) as it has in its limited theatrical run ($139,334).