Although the movie ‘Precious’ didn’t benefit greatly from its association with talk show queen Oprah Winfrey or make it into the top ten in box office receipts in its opening weekend, it still garnered rave reviews from critics. There is even talk of a Best Picture Oscar being bandied about.
‘Precious’ starring Mo’Nique, Gabourey Sidibe (in the title role), and Mariah Carey, took in $1.8 million this opening weekend. The movie is about an illiterate, morbidly obese, Harlem teenager who is raped repeatedly and impregnated twice by her father.
The flick won rave reviews when it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival last January.
Soon thereafter, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry lent their high powered names to the project as executive producers. They personally presented the film at the Toronto Film Festival and its official premiere at AFI Fest 2009 last Sunday.
And in a political coup of sorts, Lionsgate succeeded in getting former president George Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush to host a screening in Houston, Texas last Wednesday.
‘Precious’ opens nationwide on Nov. 20.
