Boots Riley Blasts International Distributors for Rejecting 'Sorry To Bother You' as a "Black Movie"

Source: IMDb

"[There are] films that bombed here, that [they are] distributing."

Sorry To Bother You may be the year's most critically adored film, but it could be some time until overseas theaters get a chance to cash-in on the success of Boots Riley's directorial debut.

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Riley took to Twitter over the weekend to explain the racial factor in this roadblock. In a tweet from late Friday night, Riley explains "Even tho [we're] outperforming a gang of other movies, distributors [are] claiming 'Black movies' don't do well internationally and [are] treating it as such."

Currently, Sorry To Bother You holds a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is already in awards discussions. The film has grossed over $14 million in the four weeks since a limited release on July 6th, expanding to theaters nationwide the following week.

READ:How Boots Riley Flips the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" Cliché in Sorry To Bother You

Hopefully, Riley's newfound visibility as a visionary director has expanded his reach and pull in an industry that's let representation flatline over the last decade, despite the success of Black Panther, Moonlight, and Get Out. Let's see if distributors heed that call.