Scarlet Johansson's 'Under the Skin' Released on Same Day as 'Captain America'; How Will It Perform?

On April 4 Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin" will open in limited release and many pundits wonder how the film will be received by audiences.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in competition for the Golden Lion and was booed by critics. The movie easily became the most divisive film of the festival circuit but still received major buzz.

Quickly after A24 acquired the film for US distribution and is planning on releasing the film in a limited run before expanding it. The release date is one of the most unique as the movie stars Scarlet Johansson and the actress also has "Captain America: The Winter's Solider" coming out on the same day.

Many times actors have had two films released in the same time period and that helps the buzz on the smaller picture or at times can distract audiences. Such was the case in 2008 when Kate Winslet's "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader" were released during the same time period. The star had to split her promotion time between the two films and the result was less than stellar results.

Penelope Cruz also had two films out at the same time in that year; "Elegy" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." However the results were very different as both easily had successful runs that proved the actress' bankability.    

This past year Matthew McConaughey and Amy Adams also had two films out at the same time. McConaughey may have had a minor role in "The Wolf of Wall Street" but he still anchored a number of the film's key scenes. His Oscar-winning turn in "Dallas Buyers Club" however was highly publicized but was not enough to make it a successful box office film. Adams meanwhile had two prevalent roles in "Her" and "American Hustle." However she did not headline either film and as a result it did not affect how she was viewed as a bankable actor. In the end it was always the audience pleasers which were successful in these more recent cases.

Johansson has never encountered this circumstance and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.  From an obvious point of view the Marvel film is going to destroy all competition but it will be interesting to see if Johansson's presence in the upcoming superhero film will help build buzz on Glazer's film.

One of the other questions is will A24's marketing help the box office of the film. The company, which is a year old, had success last year with a number of Indie films particularly "Spring Breakers."  Glazer's movie is far from an audience pleaser and can be trying to watch due to its languid pacing and experimental elements. However that was not a concern for the distribution company last year when they released "Spring Breakers" which was another experimental film that followed no clear narrative. That movie opened to $263,002 in two theaters and later expanded to 1,104 theaters and made an outstanding $4.8 million in its opening national weekend. The movie ended up with an exceptional $14 million and is the company's highest grossing film to date.

Interestingly enough the company had less success with more straightforward narratives such as "The Spectacular Now" and "The Bling Ring."

With "Under the Skin" Johansson is headlining and the actress has a mixed track record thus far. As of late she has had success with "We Bought a Zoo," "He's Just Not That Into You" and "Don Jon." However she has also had a number flops including "A Good Woman," "The Island," "The Nanny Diaries," "The Spirit" and "The Other Boleyn Girl." It will be the actress' first film she headlines all by herself since "the Nanny Diaries" and as a result this will be a test for Johansson's bankability.