‘Banshees of Inisherin’ Beats Oscar Rivals With $45,000 Average at Indie Box Office

Searchlight’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” has provided a strong glimpse into how much the indie box office has recovered and how far it still has to go, earning $181,000 from its four-screen platform release in New York and Los Angeles.

That gives Martin McDonagh’s Irish tragicomedy a per theater average of $45,250, a strong result in the current, COVID-diminished indie market that tops the $39,655 platform release average of Focus Features’ “TÁR,” as well as the averages of Neon’s “Triangle of Sadness” and MUBI’s “Decision to Leave.” It’s a sign of slow but steady recovery for arthouse moviegoing in major cities as major festival films get released.

“The Banshees of Inisherin” has earned critical acclaim since its Venice premiere, particularly for the performances of lead stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two Irish men whose abruptly terminated friendship leads them down a spiral to ruin.

Also Read:
‘Black Adam’ Earns $67 Million Opening, Highest for Dwayne Johnson in Lead Role

But this result also shows how much grosses for arthouse movies has fallen compared to pre-pandemic times. McDonagh’s previous film, the Oscar-winning “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” also had a NY/LA release in November 2017 and opened to $322,168 for an average of just over $80,000. The film went on to gross $54.5 million in North America, a total that “Inisherin” isn’t expected to match.

As it expands to 12 cities and 50 theaters next weekend and then 600-800 theaters the weekend after, “Inisherin” will be a major weathervane over the coming months of the general strength of the specialty market.

Among holdovers, “TÁR” starring Cate Blanchett expanded to 141 theaters this weekend and added $470,000, bringing its total to $1.2 million as it continues its nationwide rollout. United Artists/Orion’s “Till” added $376,134 to bring its total to around $667,000 ahead of a nationwide release next weekend.

“Triangle of Sadness” added $600,000 from 280 theaters for a $1.4 million total after three weekends, while “Decision to Leave” added $296,436 from 48 theaters for a total of $437,116 after two weekends.