‘A Bigger Splash’ Tops Quiet Weekend; ‘The Last Black Man In San Francisco’ Expands Strong: Specialty Box Office
The 4K restoration of 1974 semi-fictionalized documentary A Bigger Splash edged out with the top per theater average among the specialties this weekend, playing an exclusive run at the Metrograph Theater in Manhattan. Directed by Jack Hazan, the Metrograph Pictures release grossed $18K. This is the second release for Metrograph Pictures, following fellow doc, The Raft.
Noted Artistic and Programming Director of Metrograph Sunday: “After 45 years, it’s incredibly heartening to see audiences respond so positively to Jack Hazan’s masterpiece A Bigger Splash. We’re thrilled to be expanding the film nationwide after such a strong opening in New York.” The title, centered on artist David Hockney will head to other cities in the coming weeks.
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Neon music drama Wild Rose launched in four L.A. and New York locations Friday. Directed by Tom Harper and starring Jessie Buckley as an aspiring country singer, the Toronto ’18 title grossed an estimated three-day $56,183, averaging $14,046. Wild Rose will expand to Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. on June 28 followed by additional major markets including Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia and Miami on July 5.
Sundance 2019 premiere doc Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am bowed in four theaters via Magnolia Pictures Friday. In the three-day, the feature directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders grossed $44,000, averaging $11K. Magnolia has had considerable success with non-fiction work centered on well-respected public figures, including I Am Not Your Negro (2017, $7.12M) and RBG (2018, $14M).
“We’re happy with the opening. Despite the first nice weather in New York in weeks, people came out for Toni,” Magnolia said Sunday morning. “She’s a monumental figure and her presence on-screen is boisterous and inviting. Since Sundance, we’ve been working with book groups, booksellers, and Toni’s fans around the country, and we’re set up well for our expansion into major markets this Friday and beyond.”
Toni Morrison’s start isn’t gangbusters, though not far from other successful opening PTAs released by Magnolia. RBG had a $17K opening weekend average, though it played 34 theaters, while I Am Not Your Negro had a $15,962 opening frame in 43 locations.
Also opening this weekend was Sundance Selects doc The Quiet One, which played six theaters for $10,561 and a slow $1,760 PTA.
[UPDATED]:
Focus Features added 77 runs for Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die, bringing its total to 690 theaters in its second frame. The 2019 Cannes Film Festival opener starring a gaggle of big named stars turned zombie grossed $1.13M in the three-day estimate, averaging $1,631. The weekend gross brings The Dead Don’t Die’s cume to $4.758M, Jarmusch’s second-highest grossing movie of his career behind Broken Flowers (2005, $13.74M).
Jim Gaffigan starrer Being Frank jumped to 11 runs in its second outing. Released via The Film Arcade, Bring Frank grossed $13,208, averaging just $1,201. In its opener, the title grossed $16,392, averaging $5,464.
Roadside’s American Woman with Sienna Miller shed 79 runs for its second weekend. The title still had a slow go with a $19,965 estimated gross in 38 locations, averaging $525. In its debut the drama played 117 theaters, grossing over $110K ($945 PTA).
A24 jumped The Last Black Man In San Francisco to 72 theaters, an additional 36 over last weekend. The Sundance premiere went well over seven figures from a solid $413,589 weekend gross and a $5,744 PTA. The title grossed nearly $381K in 36 theaters in its previous weekend frame, averaging $10,581. It has cumed over $1.34M.
IFC Films played Alec Baldwin starrer Framing John DeLorean in 15 additional theaters for its third weekend of release. In 26 runs, the title grossed $27,172, averaging $1,045, slightly less than half its $2,059 PTA last weekend from a $22,644 gross in 11 theaters. Its cume is $78,788.
Doc Pavarotti from CBS Films landed just under a million dollar cume in its third weekend. The title played 135 theaters in the current three-day frame, grossing an estimated $409K, averaging $3,030 (-34%). Pavarotti took $221,207 in its second weekend, averaging $4,608 in 48 theaters.
Greenwich Entertainment doc Echo In The Canyon actually had a slight uptick in its weekend PTA despite adding 13 runs for the title’s fifth weekend. The feature grossed just over $252K in 81 locations, averaging $3,112. The gross brings Echo In The Canyon to the non-fiction seven-figure club at over $1.16M. Last weekend, the Andrew Slater-directed film grossed nearly $207K in 68 theaters, averaging $3,042.
Neon doc Apollo 11 played 5 locations in its 17th weekend, holding strong even as the Sundance title begins its CNN run. Directed by Todd Douglas Miller, Apollo 11 grossed just under $24K, averaging $4,784. Its theatrical run has cumed over $8.58M, by far the highest of the year.
NEW RELEASES
A Bigger Splash (1974) (Metrograph Pictures) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $18,000
Wild Rose (Neon) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $56,183, Average $14,046
The Quiet One (Sundance Selects) NEW [6 Theaters] Weekend $10,561, Average $1,760
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (Magnolia Pictures) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $44,000, Average $11,000
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
American Woman (Roadside Attractions/Vertical Entertainment) Week 2 [38 Theaters] Weekend $19,965, Average $525, Cume $203,372
Being Frank (The Film Arcade) Week 2 [11 Theaters] Weekend $13,208, Average $1,201, Cume $31,859
The Dead Don’t Die (Focus Features) Week 2 [690 Theaters] Weekend $1,130,000, Average $1,631, Cume $4,758,000
HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS
Framing John DeLorean (IFC Films) Week 3 [26 Theater] Weekend $27,172, Average $1,045, Cume $78,788
The Last Black Man In San Francisco (A24) Week 3 [72 Theaters] Weekend $413,589, Average $5,744, Cume $1,342,577
Papi Chulo (Blue Fox Entertainment) Week 3 [16 Theaters] Weekend $11,709, Average $732, Cume $35,731
Pavarotti (CBS Films) Week 3 [135 Theaters] Weekend $409,000, Average $3,030, Cume $992,089
The Fall Of The American Empire (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [10 Theaters] Weekend $8,678, Average $868, Cume $2,797,908 (total includes French-Canada opening last year)
Echo In The Canyon (Greenwich Entertainment) Week 5 [81 Theaters] Weekend $252,072, Average $3,112, Cume $1,169,296
Halston (1091) Week 5 [18 Theaters] Weekend $8,052, Average $447, Cume $121,664
The Spy Behind Home Plate (The Ciesla Foundation) Week 5 [31 Theaters] Weekend $50,150, Average $1,618, Cume $191,456
Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (PBS Distribution) Week 5 [7 Theaters] Weekend $7,435, Average $1,062, Cume $72,129
The Souvenir (A24) Week 6 [50 Theaters] Weekend $37,000, Average $740, Cume $912,260
All Is True (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7 [77 Theaters] Weekend $47,730, Average $620, Cume $1,076,598
The Biggest Little Farm (Neon) Week 7 [134 Theaters] Weekend $158,800, Average $1,185, Cume $3,274,141
Meeting Gorbachev (1091) Week 8 [4 Theaters] Weekend $1,708, Average $427, Cume $228,004
Non-Fiction (IFC Films) Week 8 [33 Theaters] Weekend $25,071, Average $760, Cume $653,921
The White Crow (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9 [16 Theaters] Weekend $12,039, Average $752, Cume $1,740,930
Amazing Grace (Neon) Week 13 [27 Theaters] Weekend $11,100, Average $411, Cume $4,376,970
Apollo 11 (Neon) Week 17 [5 Theaters] Weekend $23,921, Average $4,784
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