Red Rocket Director Sean Baker on His New Film and The Importance of Theatrical Exclusivity for Specialty Film

In this week’s episode of The Boxoffice Podcast, Rebecca Pahle and Jesse Rifkin discuss a quiet post-Thanksgiving weekend, which saw Disney’s Encanto maintain its top placement amid a slate of specialty releases. 

In the feature segment, Daniel Loria speaks to director Sean Baker about his latest film, Red Rocket, a dark comedy film that follows the life of a washout porn star and his ticket back into the porn industry through an intrigued teenage girl.

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Episode Resources:

• Encanto Remains No. 1 w/ $12.7M Over Slow Post-Thanksgiving Frame

What to Listen For

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:01 Special screenings for West Side Story and The Tragedy of Macbeth
• 02:38 Encanto maintained its top spot
• 07:03 Funaimation’s Sword Art Online Progressive debuts at the tenth spot 
• 10:13 New specialty titles 
• 13:06 Awards season
• 15:27 Red Rocket is a dark comedy film
• 17:12 When was Red Rocket conceptualized?
• 21:37 A realistic teenager intrigued by the idea of prostitution
• 26:29 Is there a parallel between the adult industry and theatrical distribution
• 29:58 Helping films to find their own audience
• 31:34 Releasing a dark comedy film during the recovery period