MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Film Becomes No. 1 Documentary Nationwide, Extends After NYC Premiere

Atlas Media's Merrily We Roll Along documentary, Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened - a thrilling, behind-the-scenes look at the 'then' and 'now' of perhaps Stephen Sondheim's most beloved work - scored in its first weekend of limited release on just two screens in New York City, with strong ticket sales at both NYC locations: Film Society of Lincoln Center's Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 W. 65th Street) as well as the IFC Center (323 6th Avenue). It ended the weekend as the #1 documentary on the nationwide box office charts. The film's strongest day of sales was Sunday, indicating strong word of mouth from the Friday and Saturday showings.

In response to this successful launch, both theaters have extended the film for additional weeks. Best Worst Thing, distributed theatrically by Abramorama, opens in Los Angeles this Friday, November 25 at Laemmle's Royal Theatre (1523 Santa Monica Blvd.). Additional cities will follow. For more information, visit www.BestWorstThingMovie.com.

"We're absolutely thrilled that critics and filmgoers so enthusiastically embraced our film this weekend," said producer Bruce David Klein of Atlas Media. "We look forward to sharing it with more New York City audiences in the coming weeks, and are excited that our friends in Los Angeles finally get to see it this coming Friday."

Best Worst Thing... is directed by original Merrily We Roll Along cast member and acclaimed director Lonny Price who won Emmy Awards for his acclaimed direction of two PBS specials: "Sondheim: The Birthday Concert! (Great Performances)" in 2011 and the Emma Thompson-led "Sweeney Todd In Concert" in 2002. Price also directed Audra McDonald's Tony® winning performance in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, which he also directed for television on HBO. His innumerable directing credits include the upcoming Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard starring Glenn Close.

Best Worst Thing..., a production of Atlas Media Corp. in association with Allright Productions, is produced by Bruce David Klein with Lonny Price, Kitt Lavoie and Ted Schillinger. Scott Rudin and Eli Bush serve as executive producers. The film features never-before-seen footage and interviews with the legendary Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, and original cast members, including Jason Alexander, Tony winner Tonya Pinkins, Broadway veteran Jim Walton, Ann Morrison and many more.

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened is the must-see chronicle of Stephen Sondheim and Harold Prince's much ballyhooed reverse chronology musical Merrily We Roll Along which closed after just 16 performances in 1981 but gradually assumed legend status. This alternately heartbreaking and euphoric film focuses on the original cast members, then and now, and the special place this experience holds in their memories.

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened had its world premiere at the 54th New York Film Festival on Sunday, October 9 at 6PM at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall (1941 Broadway). The screening was followed by a post-screening Q&A with Stephen Sondheim in a rare public appearance.

Watch a trailer for the documentary below!

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Atlas Media is an award-winning independent multi-platform producer of non-fiction television series, specials, theatrical documentaries and digital entertainment. Its ratings-grabbing TV productions have become staple programming for U.S. networks such as MTV, History, Discovery Channel, E! Entertainment, Travel Channel, National Geographic Channel, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, NBCUniverso -- as well as national syndication, multiplatform home entertainment services, and distribution in 100+ markets worldwide. Atlas also produces hundreds of webisodes for brands and other client online platforms. Best Worst Thing... is produced through its Theatrical Documentary division which releases films which have won multiple awards at festivals around the globe before opening theatrically - including Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise and Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead. For eleven years in a row, Atlas has been named to RealScreen magazine's prestigious annual "Global 100" list of the largest and most influential providers of non-fiction entertainment in the world. For more info, visit www.atlasmedia.tv.

Abramorama is the leading distributor of independent cinema in the US today, with sustained independent cinema theatrical success in the specialty box office nationwide. An innovator in the focused personalized form of film distribution that provides invaluable alternatives to filmmakers and content owners, Abramorama PIONEERS audience engagement with dynamic cinema via multiple release platforms. An industry leader in marketing and promotion, Abramorama continues to trail-blaze exciting new pathways for filmmakers to find their audience.

Over the course of more than 20 years, Abramorama has successfully distributed and marketed hundreds of films, including Ron Howard's The Beatles: Eight Days A Week-The Touring Years; Dawn Porter's Trapped; Asif Kapadia's Senna, Neil Young's Greendale; Cameron Crowe's Pearl Jam Twenty; Sacha Gervasi's Anvil! The Story Of Anvil; Banksy's Academy Award-nominated, Exit Through The Gift Shop; Laurie Anderson's astonishing New York Times critics' pick, Heart of a Dog, Showtime's Listen To Me Marlon (National Board of Review Winner) and Drafthouse's The Look of Silence (2016 Documentary Academy Award-Nominee and 2015 IDA Best Documentary Winner). For more information, visit www.abramorama.com.