'Social Network' gets re-release in movie theaters

Columbia Pictures on Wednesday said it will re-release Facebook film "The Social Network" in about 600 US theaters this weekend, a move that looks to capitalize on the film's recent Oscar buzz.

The redistribution to theaters is unusual in that it precedes the January 11 DVD release of "Social Network" by only four days, and typically a movie studio would not want to take a chance on curtailing sales of a home entertainment product.

But "Social Network" has been named the best movie of the year by some critics groups and been nominated for the top film by others, including voters for Golden Globes. It is widely expected to bring home an Oscar nod when nominations for the industry's top movie awards are handed out on January 25.

"'The Social Network' has struck a chord with audiences all around the world," said Jeff Blake, Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures. "No invention defines our era like Facebook does, but what has made it break through as a motion picture is that it is a parable for our time. Everyone, everywhere, can relate to the human motivations of the real-life people who are depicted in the film.

The movie that charts the rise of Facebook originally hit theaters on October 1, during a typically slow period for the industry. Its US and Canadian ticket sales are just over USD 93 million, according to Boxofficemojo.com

Adding to that figure is more than USD 100 million at overseas box offices, bringing it's total worldwide ticket sales to nearly USD 200 million.