'Midnight in Paris' Getting a Late-Summer Expansion

Sony Pictures

"Midnight in Paris"

Sony Pictures Classics is dying to go back to Paris.

In nine days, the specialty house plans to re-expand Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, a surprise indie hit that has become the veteran filmmaker's highest grossing film in the U.S. since its opening in May. Midnight's domestic gross through Tuesday is $49.9 million (it's grossed more than $83 million worldwide).

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Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen star in the story of an idealistic writer who makes nightly excursions back in time to 1920s Paris, where he gains perspective and inspiration from iconic expatriates such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Salvador Dali.

Last weekend, the film was playing in 400 theaters; on the 26th, it will be playing in an additional 500 to 600 theaters, hoping to benefit from a late-summer rush. SPC co-president Tom Bernard says there will be a new TV campaign to encourage audiences to see it again and "take a friend to Paris."

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"This movie has played strong all summer," says Bernard, who said he wants to keep the momentum going ahead of an awards push for Allen and the movie.

SPC also released the previous two Allen films, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Whatever Works.