We Bought A Zoo Headed To Select Theaters For Thanksgiving Weekend

Matt Damon in We Bought a Zoo
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

If you’re looking forward to the upcoming Cameron Crowe film We Bought A Zoo, you may have the opportunity to see it nearly a month before it makes its official debut in theaters. Select theaters are set to show the movie later this month.

We Bought a Zoo stars Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning and Thomas Haden Church, and follows a single dad who decides to get a new start for his family by buying a zoo and moving the whole family there with the intention of restoring it. Based on the trailer and the description, it looks like a great movie for the whole family, which is why an early release around this time of year seems fitting.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox and the social media service TOUT are teaming up to host screenings of We Bought a Zoo in more than 800 cities across the U.S. during the weekend of November 26th, weeks ahead of its December 23rd release. Based on the comments by Fox president and chief marketing officer Oren Aviv, it looks like they’re hoping families who are coming together for Thanksgiving will take advantage of the opportunity to see the movie early. "Once in a while, we're lucky enough to have a picture to which audiences of all kinds and all ages respond so strongly, that it demands a big and unexpected event," Aviv said. "We Bought a Zoo is that kind of picture -- and Thanksgiving is a great time to share it via this special very early preview."

This seems to fall under the same idea as the plan to release Tower Heist on demand just weeks after it hit theaters earlier this month. In that case, the plans fell through as theaters protested it. It’s far less likely that theaters will take issue with the WBaZ sneak peeks, considering they’re included this time around.

More information on We Bought A Zoo in our Blend Film Database.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.