Clint Eastwood’s Latest Film Is Great. Shame Nobody Knows It Exists
Objection, Your Honor, to the state of the movie industry. Juror #2 has all the elements of a box-office hit.
Clint Eastwood at the 2019 Richard Jewell premiere in Hollywood, California.
Photographer: Michael Kovac/Getty ImagesIf a wildly entertaining new Clint Eastwood movie comes out in theaters, but no one knows it exists, has it even been released?
Permit my philosophizing: This is the case this weekend with Juror #2, the latest (and likely last) film from the 94-year-old Hollywood legend. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.’s strange strategy for the film has become an object of fascination among some cinephiles; they’re perplexed about a studio that seems to be abandoning a movie by an acclaimed, commercially successful director who’s nearing the end of his life. Juror #2 is playing in fewer than 50 theaters nationwide, according to a report from Variety, which also noted that the studio was considering not reporting box-office numbers.
The dumping of Juror #2 becomes even more frustrating when you realize one thing: This film is really good.