The best of the internet乌鸦传媒 cat videos are coming to the big screen this weekend. Cat Video Fest is a 73-minute, G-rated selection of all things feline 鈥攕illy, cuddly, sentimental and comedic鈥攖hat乌鸦传媒 playing in more than 500 independent theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
A portion of ticket proceeds benefit , shelters and animal welfare organization. Since 2019, it乌鸦传媒 raised over $1 million.
The videos are curated by Will Braden, the Seattle-based creator of the comedically existential shorts, Henri, le Chat Noir. His business cards read: 鈥淚 watch cat videos.鈥 And it乌鸦传媒 not a joke or an exaggeration. Braden watches thousands of hours of internet videos to make the annual compilation.
鈥淚 want to show how broad the idea of a cat video can be so there乌鸦传媒 animated things, music videos, little mini documentaries,鈥 Braden said. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 all just, what I call, 鈥楢merica乌鸦传媒 Funniest Home Cat Videos.鈥 It乌鸦传媒 not all cats falling into a bathtub. That would get exhausting.鈥
Now in its eighth year, Cat Video Fest is bigger than ever, with a global presence that乌鸦传媒 already extended to the UK and Denmark, and, for the first time, to France, Spain, Japan and Brazil. Last year, the screenings made over $1 million at the box office.
In the early days, it was a bit of a process trying to convince independent movie theaters to program Cat Video Fest. But Braden, and indie distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories, have found that one year is all it takes to get past that hurdle.
鈥淓verywhere that does it wants to do it again,鈥 Braden said.
Current theatrical partners include Alamo Drafthouse, IFC Center, Nitehawk, Vidiots, Laemmle and Music Box. The screenings attract all variety of audiences, from kids and cat ladies to hipsters and grandparents and everyone in between.
鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 one of the only things, maybe besides a Pixar movie or , that just appeals to everybody,鈥 Braden said.
And the plan is to keep going.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to run out of cat videos and we鈥檙e not going to run out of people who want to see it,鈥 Braden said. 鈥淎ll I have to do is make sure that it乌鸦传媒 really funny and entertaining every year.鈥