Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof opened in the UK last week, its producers, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, hopefully anticipating the result of their decision to split the film from its counterpart, Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. But without the nostalgia of a bygone B-movie tradition and the novelty of a rare double-feature bridged together with wonderfully cheesy trailers in a faux-intermission, the film didn’t manage to captivate British audiences; if it did, they certainly weren’t compelled to go to the theater in great numbers. The film debuted in a pathetic sixth place at the box-office (£407,525 or $821,623) behind only one other opener: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which came in third.

As you may recall, Grindhouse walked away from the US box-office with a measly $24.9 million despite critical praise, something The Weinsteins chalked up to the uniqueness of the movie coupled with a long run-time and poor marketing. The decision to split the film into two separate entities for overseas distribution and DVD release was an attempt to recoup the losses incurred by that poor US performance. The marketing for the UK release of Death Proof hinged on Tarantino’s name and credibility, since he’d had successful openings in the past (Reservoir Dogs actually had better attendance there than in the US).

Tarantino’s film was also released on DVD in the US last week, and although it’s early to tell, one could foresee the same disappointing numbers.

So I ask you: Why can’t Grindhouse find its niche? It’s a fun piece of sensationalism filled with surreal gore, great action and dialogue. Admittedly, the film was too long—I found myself yawning and squirming in my seat at the two and a half hour mark—but by no means would that have deterred me from watching its theatrical release. Was the concept of a double-feature made in 70s B-movie style just too obscure for a mass audience? Now that it’s been split, what’s keeping people from seeing it?

To watch the FilmCrunch video review of Grindhouse, click here.