Magnolia: Testing day-and-date

Magnolia Pictures started and ended 2006 as the theatrical distribution arm of two day-and-date films released on DVD and the HDNet cable channel: Steven Soderbergh's "Bubble" and Matt Tauber's "The Architect." The boxoffice failure of both (along with the comedy "One Last Thing ...") showed that while many exhibitors might be worrying about the impact of day-and-date, it still is in its embryonic stages. Four of Magnolia's 15 releases only reached four figures and another four only hit five figures, but the company had a $5 million-plus success with the late-2005 release "The World's Fastest Indian," staring Anthony Hopkins. "District B13" jumped to $1.2 million highlighting acrobatic "parkour" action, and Magnolia rode a wave of mini-controversies to bring the docu "Jesus Camp" to $850,000.