Shangri-La Entertainment's Girl Walks Into a Bar Attracts More Than 260,000 Viewers

LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Shangri-La Entertainment today announced that the Sebastian Gutierrez film Girl Walks Into a Bar, the multi-character crime comedy starring Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Carla Gugino and Zachary Quinto among many others, was watched by more than 260,000 people from Friday March 11 through Sunday March 13.

Girl Walks Into a Bar, available for free at www.youtube.com/shangrila, is the first major motion picture ever created specifically for the Web.  The film's audience translates into $2.6 Million worth of ticket sales in its opening weekend.

Girl Walks Into a Bar generated an unprecedented audience by utilizing a mix of traditional and social media campaigns, bypassing traditional advertising, reviews and theatrical distribution, premiering at the South by SouthWest (SXSW) Film Festival on the same day of its YouTube launch this past Friday. It currently has a 93% positive rating from its YouTube viewers and 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Shangri-La Entertainment and the filmmaker also worked with YouTube to find an exclusive top sponsor in Lexus to minimize commercial interruptions while maximizing the value of impressions for its partner.

"This signals a new era in independent film distribution and leaves no doubt that audiences are willing to watch long form content online," said Sebastian Gutierrez. "I'm so proud of the cast of this movie and fascinated by the direct interaction between them and the actual viewers, who have responded in numbers beyond our expectations."

"We're extremely pleased with the film's opening weekend performance, both in terms of number of views it received on YouTube and the positive responses from audiences and the industry at large," said Jamie Byrne, Content Partnerships, YouTube.

Girl Walks Into a Bar follows a series of characters in interlocking stories taking place in ten different bars during the course of one evening in Los Angeles. The ensemble cast features extraordinary performances by Carla Gugino, Zachary Quinto, Danny DeVito, Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Aaron Tveit, Robert Forster, Amber Valletta, Gil Bellows and Kevin Zeger.

About Shangri-La Entertainment

Shangri-La Entertainment films include "Beowulf," "CSNY: Deja Vu," "For Your Consideration,"  "Heart of Gold," "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World," "The Polar Express," and "Shine A Light"

About YouTube

YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, CA and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.

About Lexus

Lexus is the leading luxury automaker in the United States. With its reputation for high-quality products and exemplary customer service from its 229 dealers, Lexus has been the top-selling luxury automaker for 11 years in a row. In addition, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader, offering five hybrids that provide the best in innovative technology and first-class luxury. When Lexus was established in 1989, it offered two models of vehicles. Now, more than 20 years later, Lexus offers variations of 10 vehicles, from the sporty CT 200h hybrid to the V10 supercar, the LFA.

SOURCE Shangri-La Entertainment