Specialty Box Office: ‘Obvious Child’ Bows Big; ‘The Grand Seduction,’ ‘Chef’ Expansions Solid
A24‘s Obvious Child opened to solid numbers in a crowded weekend some other distributors likely would rather forget. The abortion comedy, based on a 2009 short by filmmaker Gillian Robespierre, bowed with $81K in three theaters in NYC and LA for a robust $27K per-theater average. A24, which has had a nice winning streak of recent openers including Under The Skin (which opened in April with a $35K PTA in four theaters), was pleased with Obvious Child‘s results when reporting numbers Sunday:
“Sundance hit Obvious Child opened with the highest per screen (average) in the country this weekend and is now poised to become one of the breakout hits of summer. The hilarious and crowd-pleasing romantic comedy, featuring a star-making performance by actress/comedian Jenny Slate, received overwhelmingly positive reviews (over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes) and incredible word-of-mouth, including continual love throughout social media. The ‘revolutionary’ film that MTV called “your next obsession” saw sell-out shows on both Friday and Saturday.” A24 will expand the film to top markets over the next three weeks and go nationwide June 27.
Variance Films bowed Citizen Koch in a single location, grossing $10,200 in New York. Reporting the numbers Sunday, Variance said the feature had been pulled from its “scheduled PBS airing” after the filmmakers “refused to change the title and alter the film, changes requested by public television executives fearing the wrath of multi-billionaire (and major PBS donor) David Koch.” The film, which examines the fallout from the Citizens United verdict, will expand rapidly, with more than 60 cities booked and more to come over the next four weeks, with an expansion next week to Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, and several more Midwestern cities.
Reliance opened its Bollywood title Holiday in 144 theaters on this side of the globe with decent numbers, considering its relatively high location count. It grossed over $430K for a $2,869 PTA. Among other openers reporting numbers, Film Movement grossed $2K in one theater for 2 Autumns, 3 Winters. Gravitas Ventures opened Sundance’s Ping Pong Summer in 17 theaters, grossing $31,875 ($1,875 PTA). Gravitas‘ Melanie Miller said the film sold out shows in Silver Springs, Md., Baltimore and Nashville. Ping Pong Summer will continue to roll out to additional markets next week and throughout summer. RADiUS-TWC‘s Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon bowed in three locations, grossing $21,215 for a $7,072 average. The film was one of a few docs that opened this weekend. “Friday’s numbers were soft in summery New York, but we’re on an excellent trajectory with the country’s largest increase from Friday to Saturday for a new film,” said RADiUS’ Tom Quinn. “It’s a word-of-mouth crowd pleaser and a likely Oscar contender so we’re looking forward to a long theatrical run.”
Other openers did not report grosses, including Magnolia’s The Sacrament, HBO Documentary’s The Case Against 8, Film Buff’s Burt’s Buzz, Emerging’s Dormant Beauty, Well Go’s Rigor Mortis, MPI’s Willow Creek and Drafthouse’s Borgman.
Among holdovers, eOne added 103 theaters in the second weekend of The Grand Seduction, tempting bigger audiences in its expansion. The film grossed over $303K from 106 runs, averaging $2,860 and a two-week cume over $840K. Also adding locations was Cinedigm’s Night Moves, also in its second frame. The company added 29 theaters, grossing $50,546 in 31 theaters. It averaged $1,631, for a two-week cume of $81,332.
Open Road added 674 theaters for week 5 of Jon Favreau‘s Chef and again cooked up solid numbers. It grossed $2.6 million for a $2K PTA. The film placed 9th in the overall box office and has cumed over $10.3 million for Favreau’s labor of love and food.
It should be noted, by the way, that RADiUS-TWC’s Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom is still in theaters, passed its one-year mark in theatrical release this week, even though that in recent weeks has meant it was in only one or two theaters at a time. It has cumed over $4.946 million in addition to on-demand results (The company shared with me some of their VOD/digital numbers for 20 Feet and The Unknown Known earlier this weekend).
NEW
2 Autumns, 3 Winters (Film Movement) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $2K
Citizen Koch (Variance Films) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $10,200
Holiday (Reliance) NEW [144 Theaters] Weekend $413,102, Average $2,869
Obvious Chile (A24) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $81K, Average $27K
Ping Pong Summer (Gravitas Ventures) NEW [17 Theaters] Weekend $31,875, Average $1,875
Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon (RADiUS-TWC) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $21,215, Average $7,072
Returning / 2nd Weekend
The Grand Seduction (Entertainment One) Week 2 [106 Theaters] Weekend $303,197, Average $2,860, Cume $840,811
Night Moves (Cinedigm) Week 2 [31 Theaters] Weekend $50,546, Average $1,631, Cume $81,332
Holdovers / 3RD+ Weekends
The Dance Of Reality (ABKCO Films) Week 3 [15 Theaters] Weekend $30,128, Average $2,009, Cume $128,637
The Discoverers (Quadratic Media) Week 3 [2 Theaters] Weekend $1,270, Average $635, Cume $19,020
Gore Vidal: United States Of Amnesia (IFC Films) Week 3 [7 Theaters] Weekend $16,100, Average $2,300, Cume: $54,700
Words And Pictures (Roadside Attractions) Week 3 [98 Theaters] Weekend $294,350, Average $3,004, Cume $548,414
Chinese Puzzle (Cohen Media Group) Week 4 [27 Theaters] Weekend $31,722, Average $1,175, Cume $230,199
Chef (Open Road Films) Week 5 [1,298 Theaters] Weekend $2.6M, Average $2,003, Cume $10,361,695
Fed Up (RADiUS-TWC) Week 5 [88 Theaters] Weekend $84,253, Average $957, Cume $1,209,633
Belle (Fox Searchlight) Week 6 [476 Theaters] Weekend $765K, Average $1,607, Cume $7,579,267
Ida (Music Box Films) Week 6 [87 Theaters] Weekend $227K, Average $2,609, Cume $1,286,584
For A Woman (Film Movement) Week 6 [4 Theaters] Weekend $4,700, Average $1,175, Cume $21,730
Blue Ruin (RADiUS-TWC) Week 7 [3 Theaters] Weekend $2,220, Average $740, Cume $253,530
Fading Gigolo (Millennium Entertainment) Week 8 [54 Theaters] Weekend $54,844, Average $1,015, Cume $3,518,516
Only Lovers Left Alive (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9 [30 Theaters] Weekend $24,268, Average $808, Cume $1,621,743
Ilo Ilo (Film Movement) Week 10 [1 Theater] Weekend $183, Cume $40,785
The Unknown Known (RADiUS-TWC) Week 10 [3 Theaters] Weekend $933, Average $311, Cume $270,839
Finding Vivian Maier (Sundance Selects) Week 11 [18 Theaters] Weekend $10,800, Average $600, Cume $1,390,201
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight) Week 14 [185 Theaters] Weekend $240K, Average $1,297, Cume $57,774,443
The Lunchbox (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 15 [46 Theaters] Weekend $52,641, Average $1,144, Cume $4,052,669
20 Feet From Stardom (RADiUS-TWC) Week 52 [1 Theater] Weekend $250, Cume $4,946,160
The Immigrant (The Weinstein Company) Week 4 [145 Theaters] Weekend $185K, Average $1,276, Cume $1,414,629
The Railway Man (The Weinstein Company) Week 9 [177 Theaters] Weekend $49K, Average $277, Cume $4,227,807
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
