Watermelon Pictures Offers Free Tickets to Healthcare Workers for “American Doctor” Screenings

Watermelon Pictures says it will provide free tickets to healthcare workers for screenings of “American Doctor,” a documentary feature by Poh Si Teng that recently opened at New York City’s Angelika. The announced program is set to run as the film expands to additional showtimes this week, with the distributor framing the offer as a way to thank people working in clinical settings.

According to Watermelon Pictures’ update, the film began with a “buzzy start” at the Angelika last weekend, where it generated a cumulative box office of $41,100. The company said the opening run continues to build as the documentary’s theatrical footprint widens in the coming days.

“American Doctor” follows three U.S. physicians who volunteer to provide medical care to grievously wounded Palestinian children in Gaza, according to the distributor’s description of the project. The film is presented as a documentary feature, with Poh Si Teng as the director of record.

The Angelika engagement placed the film in a major New York arthouse venue, and the distributor’s latest plan ties the next stage of release to a targeted community offer for healthcare workers. Watermelon Pictures did not provide in the report a specific start date within the week, nor did it detail ticket redemption mechanics, eligibility requirements, or which healthcare professions would qualify.

Watermelon Pictures’ announcement comes as documentary distributors increasingly pair limited theatrical runs with audience-facing initiatives, particularly around schedules that can be tight for viewers who work in public-facing and shift-based roles. In this case, the stated focus is on healthcare workers, a group the distributor says will receive free admission.

The documentary’s next steps, based on the distributor’s report, are tied to its expansion beyond the Angelika run in New York. The report did not specify the number of additional theaters, the markets targeted beyond New York, or the duration of the free-ticket program.

For audiences, the practical effect is a lowered cost barrier to seeing the film during the early expansion window. For the industry, the initiative also functions as a promotional measure connected to theatrical attendance, rather than a streaming rollout or a formal partnership with a specific healthcare institution in the details provided.