(Peter & the Wolf, Best Animated Short Subject, 2008)
Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International will be hitting theaters in cities across the country 2 weeks before the Oscar broadcast:
LONDON, UK, 12th January 2009 – Shorts International has announced that it will bring the Oscar®-nominated short films in the live-action and animated categories to U.S. theatres on February 6th 2009, giving audiences around the country an opportunity to see the nominated films prior to the 81st Academy Awards® ceremony on February 22nd. This year’s release will also in part be supported by Magnolia Pictures.
The theatrical release of the Academy Award® -nominated short films has become wildly popular with filmgoers. The films have charted a dramatic 223% increase in attendance at the domestic box office since their launch 4 years ago.
The Oscar® Shorts program will open in theaters from February 6th, expanding to 60 cities throughout the country in the following weeks.
And good news for those of us not lucky enough to live near of any those 60 cities: the nominated short films will be released on iTunes on February 17th on iTunes stores in the US, UK and Canada.