With more than 400 pre-release screenings, the studio set its sights on the military community, video gamers and young males to help a little film with no stars generate a big opening weekend.

It has no major stars, isn’t a sequel and wasn’t based on a best-seller, TV show or video game. Yet Act of Valor opened atop the North American box office with an impressive $24.5 million -- despite competition from the Academy Awards and NBA All-Star Game.

The big opening weekend for the action pic starring real Navy SEALs can be traced in part to a highly-targeted marketing campaign by distributor Relativity Media that cultivated support from the military community, video game fans, fickle male moviegoers and more.

"While what was unique about this movie was hard to present in 30 seconds, it wasn’t impossible," says Terry Curtin, Relativity's president of theatrical marketing. "We tried over and over to elevate the visceral breakthrough style of this film."

Read the entire The Hollywood Reporter article here. 

Related article:  Act of Valor movie review at Village Theatre.