Rob Reiner's 'Flipped' won't get wide release

1:07 PM PDT 10/14/2010 by Carl DiOrio, AP

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EXCLUSIVE: WB scales back after film's lackluster limited run

Moviegoers haven't exactly flipped for Rob Reiner's "Flipped."

Two weeks of limited runs haven't gone well. So instead of hitting wide release Friday as planned, the period drama will play in fewer locations than last week.

Warner Bros. opened "Flipped" on Aug. 6 in 45 theaters in three markets: Los Angeles, Sacramento, Calif., and Austin. The PG-rated pic's limited bow was supported by a barrage of media articles and other media items promoting "Flipped" and its helmer, whose political and civic involvement have secured more attention than his pics of late.

Despite mostly positive reviews, the inaugural playdates performed weakly. So the studio reduced the pic to 29 runs last weekend but got similarly soft results.

This weekend, its theater count will dwindle further, to 26 total runs. But the latest playdates will include new markets -- including the oft-lucrative New York.

So there remains a chance that lightning will strike and Warners will attempt a re-expansion of the book-based movie.

"While our initial test markets did not perform to our expectation, we love this movie, and we are committed to six new markets with a different plan in the hope we can find the audience to make this film a success," Warners distribution boss Dan Fellman said.