By Dan Wooding

LOS ANGELES, CA – Few movies have been able to take over an entire multiplex – every screen, every seat; only major blockbusters. But now an independent film, Little Boy, took over entire multiplexes in 20 cities during a special showing on Thursday April 23, before it opened in theaters nationwide April 24.

According to a news release, with support from celebrities, business leaders, sports stars, and others, multiplexes in 20 communities played Little Boy on ALL their screens on the evening of April 23.

“We’re excited to see this level of excitement around the movie,” says Elliot Slutzky, EVP of Distribution at Open Road Films. “We’ve confirmed many buyouts, takeovers and pre-sales for Little Boy in theatres across the country. People are really passionate about this movie.”

Theater Takeovers too place in Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Colorado Springs and Connecticut.

Tickets were sponsored for groups as diverse as AYSO, Big Brothers Big Sisters, military families, churches, schools and other non-profits, with the goal of generating “Acts of Kindness,” a central theme of Little Boy. Hundreds of sponsors are supporting the effort, including Business, Civic, Sports, and Entertainment Leaders.

In addition to entire Theater Take-Overs, Little Boy events nationwide include: NY Times bestselling author Ken Blanchard is helping to sponsor 2,845 tickets for military families at Camp Pendleton, CA; Major League Baseball veteran Mike Sweeney of the Kansas City Royals is donating 1,000 tickets to Navy families through the military YMCA. American Youth Soccer League (AYSO) is holding 20 private premiere events. Big Brothers Big Sisters is also holding private premieres. 2000 tickets are being donated to Fundacion en Luz, which benefits teenage orphans that have arrived in the U.S. from Mexico. Events are being held in Honolulu, Aspen, New York City, Green Bay and other cities to raise money to assist refugees fleeing ISIS in Iraq.

Many events will have a card to promote acts of kindness, and the Templeton Foundation has partnered with UCLA’s Action Lab to build an app (actionlab.org/littleboy) to encourage Acts of Kindness.

Little Boy is a powerful and moving, utterly unique story that will capture your heart and lift your spirits. Little Boy tells the heartwarming story of a little boy who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring his dad home from World War II alive. The story reveals the indescribable love a little boy has for his father and the love a father has for his son. Set in the 40’s, Little Boy is a cinematic classic that captures the wonder of life through the eyes of an 8-year-old little boy.

From the filmmakers who won the prestigious Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice Award for the movie Bella, Little Boy features two Oscar nominated actors (Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson), and is directed by Smithsonian Institute Award Winning Director Alejandro Monteverde; produced by Eduardo Verástegui and Leo Severino. Executive Producers include Mark Burnett (The Voice, Shark Tank, Survivor, The Bible, Son of God, A.D. The Bible Continues) and Roma Downey (Touched By an Angel, The Bible).

You can view a trailer at the official movie website www.LittleBoyMovie.com