campaign to attract the intended target audience. Theatrical posters for the film were distributed to exhibitors in February 1991. Beginning in April 1991, Fox arranged several screenings in Toronto, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago, with audience members being music industry executives, journalists, disc jockeys and club owners. In August 1991, the studio hosted a press junket in Dublin, Ireland for several media outlets. The Commitments premiered at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California on 6 August 1991, the Cinerama Dome Theatre in Hollywood on 7 August 1991, the Cineplex Odeon Century Plaza Cinemas in Century City, Los Angeles on 13 August 1991, and the Savoy Cinema in Dublin, Ireland on 19 September 1991. Fox gave The Commitments a platform release which involved opening the film in select cities before expanding distribution in the following weeks. The film had a limited release in New York City, Los Angeles, and Ireland on 14 August 1991, and expanded to Toronto, San Francisco and Chicago on 16 August 1991. The film was released nationwide in North America on 13 September 1991, and Ireland on 4 October 1991. The English-based studio Sovereign Pictures handled distribution outside North America. Box office The Commitments grossed $271,333 on its first week of limited release in North America—an average of $33,916 per theater. The film grossed an additional $268,653 in its second weekend, with an overall domestic gross of $775,824. More theaters were added in its third week; the film grossed an additional $1,366,223 from 104 theatres, which was a +409% increase from its second weekend. The following week, the film was released to a total of 555 theaters in the United States and Canada. It grossed $2,511,091, securing the number three position at the domestic box office. The film saw a significant drop in attendance during the following week, the film grossed $1,752,234, a 30.2% overall decrease from the previous weekend. After eight weeks of release, The Commitments ended its theatrical run with an overall gross of $14,919,570. In North America, it was the 80th highest-grossing film of 1991 and the 42nd highest-grossing R-rated film of that year. The film was the highest-grossing film in Ireland of all time with a gross of IR£2.23 million ($3.5 million). It grossed £8,285,701 in the UK. Home media In North America, The Commitments was released on VHS on 9 April 1992 by FoxVideo, Inc. To