Sony Pictures offers NFL players, families free admission to 'Concussion'

CULVER CITY, Calif., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Sony Pictures Entertainment says it is offering National Football League players and their families free admission to Concussion during the duration of the film's run.

The studio has already held private screenings in each team's city in advance of the movie's opening. Guests will receive complimentary admission for himself and one guest by presenting his NFLPA membership card at any Cinemark theater nationwide once the big-screen drama is released Friday.

The film features Will Smith in his Golden Globe-nominated performance as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic neuropathologist who first made the discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, during a pro player's autopsy, then fought to bring attention to the dangers of the sport.

"This is a movie for the players, so we wanted to give them a chance to see it before its nationwide release and free admission during its run in theaters," producers Ridley Scott and Giannina Scott said in a joint statement Wednesday.

"The movie is so inspiring -- Will Smith gives one of the best performances of his career as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a man who shined a light on the truth. The odds were stacked against him, but he had the truth on his side, and now, his discovery is all anyone's talking about. We think the players will enjoy watching this movie about Dr. Omalu's incredible courage -- courage that changed the game."