Ali G’s sequel was promoted with appearances on 60 Minutes, Howard Stern and Fallon. Sacha even said he spent $3 million of his own money on one eight-hour scene, so I can see why people expected a bigger cinema run.
Instead, the film reportedly played in just 23 cinemas, and Amazon hasn’t shared its box office figures. It’s sitting at 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, and in the UK Ali G has faced criticism as an outdated caricature.
Amazon hasn’t confirmed whether that played any part in the release plan.
What stands out to me is how quickly it moved online after all that promotion. I’d have expected a film pushed that heavily to get more time in cinemas.
Sacha has now weighed in, commenting underneath a post about the Prime Video release, saying: “Can’t wait for everyone to watch, no matter where you get to see it”.
I actually think that’s a good response. He’s steering the focus towards people watching the film, rather than the short cinema run.
Before you go, I wanna know… should Ali G have had a proper cinema release, or is streaming the better place for it?
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