A few newcomers shined among the specialties on the weekend following the Oscars, while Oscar winners The Favourite and Free Solo added runs to take advantage of a post-Awards bounce. A24 drama-horror Climax by Gaspar Noé took the weekend’s highest per-theater average. A debut out of last year’s Cannes Directors Fortnight, Climax grossed an estimated $121,655 in five locations, averaging $24,331.
Epic doc Apollo 11 by Todd Douglas Miller launched exclusively in IMAX theaters across the country just weeks after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The Neon release played 120 locations for the weekend’s highest specialty gross at $1,650,000, for a $13,750 PTA.
Although only in two theaters, Music Box Films’ Transit edged over that average. The German/French drama by Christian Petzold is coming in at $35,368, averaging $17,684.
Vertical Entertainment bowed Toronto debut Giant Little Ones with Maria Bello, Kyle MacLachlan and Taylor Hickson with an exclusive run, grossing $13,500.
Among other limited run openers, Well Go USA’s Furie grossed $145,400 from 14 runs ($10,386 PTA); Samuel Goldwyn Films’ bio-pic Mapplethorpe starring Matt Smith came in at $17K in three locations ($5,667 PTA); IFC Films’ The Wedding Guest by Michael Winterbottom played four locations for $20,156 ($5,039 PTA); Oscilloscope’s The Hours And Times had an exclusive run, grossing $2,250; and Blue Fox Entertainment’s Saint Judy has a three-day estimate of $41,234 in 55 theaters ($750 PTA).
Olivia Colman surprised with her win for Best Actress last Sunday at the Oscars. Fox Searchlight took advantage, jumping The Favourite’s theater count by 454 vs. last weekend, bringing its count to 742. Directed by nominee Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite grossed $825K in its 15th frame, averaging $1,112. The title took in $557K last weekend in 288 theaters, averaging $1,934, bringing its cume to over $33.2M.
Free Solo from National Geographic Documentary Film/Greenwich Entertainment has spent 23 weekends in theaters with upward momentum all the way. The title by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin won Best Documentary and a subsequent 148 theater jump over the release’s previous frame. Free Solo grossed $364,100 in 238 locations, averaging $1,530, which is only about 5% below last weekend’s $1,619 PTA in far fewer runs.
Regina King took Best Supporting Actress in Annapurna’s If Beale Street Could Talk. The feature by Barry Jenkins had its location count reduced by just one vs. last weekend, grossing an estimated $137,546 in its 13th frame, averaging $1,092. If Beale Street Could Talk has cumed over $14.64M.
Climax is the biggest opening for filmmaker Gaspar Noé. Distributor A24 said its $121,566 in five theaters include number one spots in “every theater it opened in, including [locations] in San Francisco and Austin.” Noé’s highest-grossing title on this continent is Irreversible, which had an $8,583 PTA when it bowed in seven locations in March, 2003, going on to cume $792K. 2010 release, Enter The Void grossed $43,651 in three locations in its opening frame, averaging $14,550, going on to cume over $336K in theaters.
The company said it will open “top markets next weekend” ahead of a nationwide roll out on March 15.
Todd Douglas Miller received an editing award at the recent Sundance Film Festival for Apollo 11. Distributor Neon went to IMAX theaters around the country, giving the doc’s 65mm footage its full splendor this weekend ahead of the doc’s roll out in other theaters next weekend. Neon reported that Apollo 11’s gross increased 68% from Friday to Saturday and it touted its ‘certified fresh’ on RT.
Miller said that Josh Braun of film sales company Submarine took about 20 minutes of the film to last year’s Cannes Film Festival where he played the CNN Films-produced title for distributors. The director said that Neon’s Tom Quinn had the idea to go big. “Tom was the only person that said this deserves to be on the largest screens possible,” said Miller ahead of the film’s roll out last week. “Tom walked it into [people he knows] at IMAX. He saw the vision to do something bigger.”
Christina Petzold’s Transit played at IFC Center and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Its $35,368 gross ($17,684 average). His previous release, Phoenix, opened in two theaters in July, 2015, grossing over $30K in its opening weekend, averaging $15,148. The title did well in theaters, going on to total over $3.18M.
“We attribute the opening to the film’s acclaimed tour on the festival circuit, the timely issues of migration and statelessness, Petzold’s reputation among art house audiences, and excellent reviews in a variety of publications,” noted Music Box Films Sunday. The company will add runs in L.A. and Washington, D.C. on Friday as well as an additional New York run at BAM. Music Box will add another dozen markets, including Chicago, Boston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Minneapolis on March 15 ahead of 100 runs by mid-April.
In its second weekend, Roadside Attractions’ family-faith drama Run The Race has topped $4.15M. The
feature grossed an estimated $1.31M ($1,227 PTA) after expanding into wide territory at 1,075 theaters.
Oscilloscope added a run for Wrestle in its second weekend, grossing $4,200 ($2,100 PTA). The doc bowed with an exclusive run last weekend with a gross just over $6K. It has cumed $12,503. The feature took in over $2.16M in its opening frame, averaging $2,534.
And while Glenn Close missed out on an Oscar win last weekend, the title she received her Best Actress nomination for, The Wife, crossed over $9.5M. The SPC release took just under $37K in 78 theaters Friday to Sunday, averaging $474.
NEW RELEASES
Apollo 11 (Neon) NEW [120 Theaters] Weekend $1,650,000, Average $13,750
Climax (A24) NEW [5 Theaters] Weekend $121,655, Average $24,331
Furie (Well Go USA) NEW [14 Theaters] Weekend $145,400, Average $10,386
Giant Little Ones (Vertical Entertainment) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $13,500
The Hours And Times (Oscilloscope) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $2,250
Mapplethorpe (Samuel Goldwyn Films) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $17,000, Average $5,667
MET Opera: La Fille Du Regiment (2019) (Fathom Events) NEW [900 Theaters] Weekend $1,500,000, Average $1,667
Saint Judy (Blue Fox Entertainment) NEW [55 Theaters] Weekend $41,234, Average $750
Transit (Music Box Films) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $35,368, Average $17,684
The Wedding Guest (IFC Films) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $20,156, Average $5,039
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
The Iron Orchard (Santa Rita Film Co.) Week 2 [42 Theaters] Weekend $65,450, Average $1,558, Cume $121,140
Run The Race (Roadside Attractions) Week 2 [1,075 Theaters] Weekend $1,319,105, Average $1,227, Cume $4,156,142
Total Dhamaal (FIP) Week 2 [208 Theaters] Weekend $460,000, Average $2,212, Cume $1,756,926
Wrestle (Oscilloscope) Week 2 [2 Theater] Weekend $4,200, Average $2,100, Cume $12,503
HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS
Birds Of Passage (The Orchard) Week 3 [31 Theaters] Weekend $64,652, Average $2,086, Cume $165,837
Catvideofest 2019 (Oscilloscope) Week 3 [3 Theaters] Weekend $18,500, Average $6,166, Cume $57,733
Ruben Brandt, Collector (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3 [15 Theaters] Weekend $12,577, Average $838, Cume $34,314
Everybody Knows (Focus Features) Week 4 [209 Theaters] Weekend $481,000, Average $2,302, Cume $1,277,000
Lords Of Chaos (Gunpowder & Sky) Week 4 [28 Theaters] Weekend $18,668, Average $666, Cume $218,415
To Dust (Good Deed Entertainment) Week 4 [23 Theaters] Weekend $23,872, Average $1,038, Cume $100,221
Arctic (Bleecker Street) Week 5 [268 Theaters] Weekend $362,124, Average $1,351, Cume $1,626,666
Never Look Away (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 6 [122 Theater] Weekend $136,474, Average $1,119, Cume $671,886
On The Basis Of Sex (Focus Features/Participant) Week 10 [96 Theaters] Weekend $61,000, Average $635, Cume $24,587,000
Stan & Ollie (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 10 [71 Theaters] Weekend $52,926, Average $745, Cume $5,075,931
Cold War (Amazon Studios) Week 11 [128 Theaters] Weekend $143,616, Average $1,122, Cume $4,368,186
Capernaum (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 12 [55 Theaters] Weekend $72,087, Average $1,311, Cume $1,370,062
If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna Pictures) Week 13 [126 Theaters] Weekend $137,546, Average $1,092, Cume $14,644,000
The Favourite (Fox Searchlight) Week 15 [742 Theaters] Weekend $825,000, Average $1,112, Cume $33,217,039
Free Solo (National Geographic Documentary Film/Greenwich Entertainment) Week 23 [238 Theaters] Weekend $364,100, Average $1,530, Cume $16,947,781
The Wife (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 29 [78 Theaters] Weekend $36,942, Average $474, Cume $9,524,213
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