Only Lovers Left Alive held sway among Specialty newcomers this weekend, scoring the weekend’s highest average in a fairly crowded box office. The film starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston grossed nearly $97K in four theaters, averaging $24,244. Crowds packed the 268-seat Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center Friday night where director Jim Jarmusch took part in a Q&A for the 7pm screening of the film (he gave a rather interesting theory on William Shakespeare not being the author of his work). The weekend results for Lovers outperformed Jarmusch’s previous 2009 feature The Limits Of Control, which averaged $18,607 in three theaters when it opened in May of that year. It went on to cume over $426K domestically. Broken Flowers which starred Bill Murray, Sharon Stone and Julie Delpy had a slightly higher PTA launch, averaging $28,904 in 27 theaters when it opened in August 2005. The Focus Features release went on to total over $13.744M in the U.S.
“It’s a great start, people really seemed to love the film,” said SPC co-president Michael Barker Sunday. SPC will open Only Lovers Left Alive in New York and L.A. this weekend, expanding to San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C. the following week before heading to the top 50 markets through spring.
TWC opened The Railway Man in several locations, grossing $64,506 for an so-so $16,127 average. “We’re off to a respectable start on Railway Man,” said TWC president of Theatrical Distribution Erik Lomis Sunday. “Our exit information confirmed [what we thought]. It was a mostly an older audience. There’s some images that are disturbing, but it’s very relevant today with current events in Fort Hood. What we learned from the U.K. and Australia was that the midweek grosses were about as good as the weekends. So we’re just going to let it roll. There was more than a 100% jump at the Paris Theater [In New York] and big jumps at Angelika from Friday to Saturday.”
The film starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman grossed nearly $6.3 million in Australia and about $8.5 million in the U.K. as well as $1 million in New Zealand.
Doc Dancing In Jaffa had a decent start given its niche subject matter. It opened in a pair of locations, grossing $16K for an $8K average. IFC Films has done well with docs lately (Jaffa was released under its Sundance Selects label). Its Finding Vivian Maier continues to show legs, adding 10 theaters in its third weekend, grossing $108K for a $4,500 average ($320,200 cume). The distributor’s other weekend release, Hateship Loveship with Kristen Wiig and Guy Pearce opened softer, however. It grossed $7K at IFC Center in NYC. It will head to L.A. next weekend and head into the top 10 market by the end of April.
Nicolas Cage starrer Joe by David Gordon Green opened in 48 theaters with comparatively weaker numbers. It grossed over $106K for a slow $2,216 PTA, though the title is a day and date release. Joe will hit over 100 runs in the next couple of weeks. Entertainment One had the largest theatrical newcomer of the weekend, bowing Cuban Fury in 79 theaters. The title nevertheless had a slow start, grossing only $55,466, averaging only $702. It will expand to additional markets next week and a VOD/digital release is set for July.
Last weekend’s star newcomer, Under The Skin by Jonathan Glazer, held solid as it added 50 theaters in its second round. The A24 release starring Scarlett Johansson grossed over $309K, for a $5,727 average. It bowed in 4 theaters, grossing $140K for a $35K average. Fox Searchlight added 38 locations for the second weekend of Dom Hemingway‘s theatrical run with a slow showing. It grossed $70K, averaging $1,667. Hemingway opened last week in 4 theaters, averaging $8K. Lionsgate/Codeblack kept Frankie & Alice in 171 theaters in its second frame. It grossed $125K for a slight $731 PTA. It averaged just over $2K a week prior.
The Raid 2 had one of the weekend’s largest expansions, adding 928 locations in its third frame. The film grossed over $1 million for a $1,063 PTA, placing 11th in the overall box office. Michael Barker noted that the film’s grosses are “slightly ahead” of the first Raid installment at the same juncture. He also noted that The Raid 2 is longer (150 minutes vs The Raid: Redemption‘s 101 minutes). Raid 2 has cumed over $1.42M.
The Grand Budapest Hotel continues its charge through the box office, adding 204 theaters in its sixth weekend. It grossed a cool $4M, averaging $2,750. The film has cumed just shy of $39.5 million. Music Box added 42 runs for Le Week-end, still holding solid business in its 5th weekend. The film grossed $266,591, averaging $1,839 in 145 runs. It has cumed over $1.2 million.
NEW
Cuban Fury (Entertainment One) NEW [79 Theaters] Weekend $55,466, Average $702
Dancing In Jaffa (Sundance Selects) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $16K, Average $8K
Hateship Loveship (IFC Films) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $7K
Joe (Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate) NEW [48 Theaters] Weekend $106,380, Average $2,216
Only Lovers Left Alive (Sony Pictures Classics) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $96,976, Average $24,244
The Railway Man (The Weinstein Company) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $64,506, Average $16,127
Returning / 2nd Weekend
Dom Hemingway (Fox Searchlight) Week 2 [42 Theaters] Weekend $70K, Average $1,667, Cume $119,823
Frankie & Alice (Lionsgate/Codeblack) Week 2 [171 Theaters] Weekend $125K, Average $731, Cume $587,883
Under The Skin (A24) Week 2 [54 Theaters] Weekend $309,248, Average $5,727, Cume $500,245
The Unknown Known (RADiUS-TWC) Week 2 [80 Theaters] Weekend $64,700, Average $809, Cume $153,063
Watermark (Entertainment One) Week 2 [3 Theaters] Weekend $7,857, Average $2,619, Cume $19,804
Holdovers / 3RD+ Weekends
Breathe In (Cohen Media Group) Week 3 [15 Theaters] Weekend $9,184, Average $612, Cume $81,756
Cesar Chavez (Lionsgate/Pantelion) Week 3 [305 Theaters] Weekend $275K, Average $902, Cume $5,175,828
Finding Vivian Maier (Sundance Selects) Week 3 [24 Theaters] Weekend $108K, Average $4,500, Cume $320,200
Mistaken For Strangers (Abramorama) Week 3 [4 Theaters] Weekend $7,120, Average $1,780, Cume $123,716
The Raid 2 (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3 [954 Theaters] Weekend $1,014,096, Average $1,063, Cume $1,427,221
50 To 1 (Ten Furlongs) Week 4 [95 Theaters] Weekend $78,924, Average $831, Cume $530,195
Jodorowsky’s Dune (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [23 Theaters] Weekend $42,405, Average $1,844, Cume $237,409
Rob The Mob (Millennium Entertainment) Week 4 [30 Theaters] Weekend $33,072, Average $1,102, Cume $150,163
Bad Words (Focus Features) Week 5 [763 Theaters] Weekend $600K, Average $786, Cume $7,130,106
Enemy (A24) Week 5 [39 Theater] Weekend $28,783, Average $738, Cume $949,421
On My Way (Cohen Media Group) Week 5 [14 Theaters] Weekend $15,507, Average $1,107, Cume $248,932
Le Week-End (Music Box Films) Week 5 [145 Theaters] Weekend $266,591, Average $1,839, Cume $1,217,652
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight) Week 6 [1,467 Theaters] Weekend $4M, Average $2,750, Cume $39,469,555
Particle Fever (Abramorama/Bond 360) Week 6 [23 Theaters] Weekend $46,388, Average $2,017, Cume $602,726
The Lunchbox (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7 [129 Theaters] Weekend $310,298, Average $2,405, Cume $1,726,306
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features) Week 24 [33 Theaters] Weekend $17K, Average $515, Cume $27,271,568
12 Years A Slave (Fox Searchlight) Week 26 [64 Theaters] Weekend $30,600, Average $478, Cume $56,565,509
20 Feet From Stardom (RADiUS-TWC) Week 44 [2 Theaters] Weekend $230, Average $115, Cume $4,941,013
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