Guillermo del Toro Questions Warner Bros.’ Limited Rollout of Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’: ‘Why Was This Not Released Wide in the States?’

Guillermo del Toro is being the judge on the theatrical rollout for Clint Eastwood‘s “Juror #2.”

The Academy Award-winning director took to social media to question why Warner Bros. only gave an extremely limited theatrical release to Eastwood’s critically acclaimed legal thriller. The film opened November 1 in merely 31 U.S. and Canadian theaters, as well as in six European countries; it expanded to a handful of additional U.S. cities for its second week in theaters.

Del Toro is now urging audiences to go to the theaters to support “Juror #2,” while also asking Warner Bros. to hopefully leave the feature in theaters for longer.

“Went to the theatre to see ‘Juror #2,’ Clint Eastwood’s latest film. We enjoyed it tremendously. It’s — in some ways — his ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors,'” Del Toro wrote, via World of Reel. “The film is precisely and assuredly filmed and it’s Nicolas Hoult’s to lead. The cast delivers beautifully, and it has an ending that set the theatre abuzz.”

Del Toro continued, “Its central dilemma reminded me of the quiet turmoil boiling under Dana Andrews in Preminger Noir of your choice (for me ‘Where The Sidewalk Ends’) and it wrestles with it, supported by a well-paced structure and well pondered twists. Why was this not released wide in the States?”

Eastwood’s most recent film prior to “Juror #2,” “Cry Macho,” only grossed $16.5 million worldwide against a budget of $33 million.

However, “Juror #2” is a far “Cry” from its predecessor.

Del Toro added, “We saw [‘Juror #2’] at the Grove with a significant crowd that was vocal and responsive all the way. I truly hope WB can hold it longer. Eastwood is a master filmmaker and the steady, unfussy craft reveals him still in great form. Go see it on the big screen!”

A trio of IndieWire editors, including Editorial Director Kate Erbland, TV head Erin Strecker, and film head Ryan Lattanzio, wrote a call to action for audiences to go to “Juror #2.”

“Audiences […] will find a Clint Eastwood in ‘Juror #2’ at his most politically cynical best,” Lattanzio penned. “Here, he seems to have lost hope in the justice system to uplift moral character at all or to punish its opposing forces. As an incumbent District Attorney and the prosecutor of an alleged murder that juror Nicholas Hoult’s Justin Kemp may actually be responsible for, Toni Collette emerges at this film’s final chilling frame as the most Eastwood-ian hero of the picture. Albeit one in a cracked 21st-century lens that’s a far cry from his bronco billys or pale riders. Here, she’s trying to do the quote-unquote right thing but up against bits of paper and bureaucracy that make doing so futile, short-circuiting moral compasses in the process.”

Lattanzio added, “‘Juror #2’ is a superbly made and even relaxed affair, with an unfussy Eastwood harking back not to just to the legal thrillers of the ’80s and ’90s we dearly miss but to noir and even Hitchcock. The shocks and gasps in the audience at unexpected moments — where a close-up on a picture frame or a note attached to a bouquet of flowers — reminded me of the best of the Master of the Suspense. Go into ‘Juror #2’ for the gripping story, but stay for the film’s most compelling case for its greatness — and further indictment of [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] David Zaslav of his treatment of a filmmaker who has done tremendous work for Warner Bros. for decades: its masterly craftsmanship.”