Thursday, October 29, 2026

Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Ali G” Movie Will Continue Its Run in One or Two Theaters Despite Amazon Saying It Played “Against Our Goals”

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Sacha Baron Cohen’s new “Ali G” movie was supposed to shut down in theaters after Saturday.

But now Amazon MGM says it will hang around in a couple of theaters despite their efforts to kill it.

“The stunt release delivered against our goals of driving awareness, generating excitement and creating a powerful sense of FOMO around Ali G’s highly anticipated return ahead of the film’s global debut on Prime Video,” Amazon MGM says in a statement exclusive to The Hollywood Reporter. The studio has not reported box office grosses for the film.

The movie debuted yesterday on Amazon Prime with little notice. It’s number 4 right now, promoted with other Amazon originals.

Don’t get too excited. “Ali G: Who Iz I?” was only available in 23 theaters, some showing it once or twice a day. It’s only going to remain in a handful for the rest of the week under this new plan, and some once daily. The only theater in the NY area where it’s really booked is in West Nyack, New York. LOL. Otherwise, it’s gone.

The statement to the Hollywood Reporter says it all: their goal obviously was that it would die over the two day release. But people who could went to see it, responding to a flurry of publicity like the segment on “60 Minutes.”

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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