Seven countries aren't showing Primetime for a month despite US September release

Primetime is one of the most hotly anticipated films of the year, with Robert Pattinson’s performance as Chris Hansen already leading for calls for him to receive his first ever Oscar nomination.

Primetime tells the real-life story of the rise and dark ending of To Catch a Predator, though Chris Hansen has come out and slammed the movie claiming they ‘don’t care about the real story’.

The film is releasing in the US this week, 25 September, but several major markets will be totally unable to watch the film for a full month.

In the UK and Ireland Primetime will release 30 October, whilst Benelux countries Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg will be able to see the film 29 October. Australia and New Zealand will also be able to watch the film 29 October, over a month after US fans.

Serious film buffs will not be surprised at a hotly anticipated A24 movie not releasing simultaneously globally as they will have become used to it from the production company who oftentimes released films as much as half a year later around the globe.

In a world of streaming though where everyone is used to being able to watch things instantly it is still an odd quirk that you have to wait a whole month to be able to see huge films such as Primetime, but there is logic behind this delay.

These major delays were far more common back in the days before digital projection as oftentimes UK cinemas would reuse US film reels.

Nowadays though the delay is most common with A24 movies and other similarly sized films.

In the case of Primetime, however, film expert and Co-Owner of DiscussingFilm Jacob Fisher explained that the delay could be combination of the specific film’s topic and A24’s business model.

Speaking exclusively to LADbible, he explained that ‘Chris Hansen's fame mostly comes from the success of his How To Catch A Predator show which was mainly broadcast in the United States.’ He continued: “Whilst Hansen definitely holds some notoriety in the UK, it is nowhere near on the level of household fame that he has within the U.S.”

Robert Pattinson's performance as Chris Hansen has already seen him receive Oscar nods from critics (A24)

The founder of the popular film site explained that A24’s more popular films usually see them team up with a company known as Entertainment Film Distributors (EFD) that ‘ensure they can release on the same day in the UK on the most screens as possible’.

Fisher pointed to these deals being done for Marty Supreme and The Drama and stated that stated that EFD would have projected that Primetime wouldn’t be a big enough financial success in the UK to buy the rights.

This has left A24 to self-distribute, something they are still growing in the UK as they are a smaller U.S. based studio, with Jacob explaining: “A24 doesn’t have the full budget capability to distribute a film all across the UK on the same day as its U.S. release, leading to a staggered release rollout.”

The film will not be available to watch until late October for seven major countries (A24)

In addition to this specific rollout in the UK it can sometimes fall down to competing schedules for junket interviews, since actors can’t be in two places at once, and can also come down to international distribution deals being confirmed later in the process than those in the US, leading to delays.

An anonymous publicist spoke to The Independent during the staggered release period for The Materialists where they stated that the decision around whether to stagger a film internationally can come down to whether audiences are likely to find a way to pirate it rather than wait.

They explained that, whilst global blockbusters will have fans pirating it to avoid spoilers, in the case of A24 films 'you have the ability to delay your releases and target each market one at a time.'

The anonymous expert continued: "The profile of fan that they tend to have means you’re not as much at risk of piracy. A24 fans wear caps with their logos on as symbols of their love of cinema. They’ll wait to watch Materialists properly, on a big screen instead of some choppy streaming site with pop-up ads. They might complain about having to wait. But they will wait.”