‘Far From The Madding Crowd,’ ‘Welcome To Me’ Vigorous At Specialty Box Office

New special titles this weekend seduced moviegoers beyond the hoards heading en masse to Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Alchemy had a surprisingly robust start with Kristen Wiig starrer Welcome To Me, which has the highest per theater average among limited releases while Fox Searchlight’s debut Far From The Madding Crowd was on its heels with a very solid launch. Oscilloscope’s Québécois drama Félix And Meira showed some legs, expanding in its third frame, while RADiUS’ Adult Beginners has now cumed $364K on VOD. Helen Hunt’s Ride has not reported numbers.

Welcome To Me
Welcome To Me

Director Shira Piven’s Welcome To Me, also starring Linda Cardellini, James Marsden and Wes Bentley, opened in two theaters. The film grossed $38,168, averaging $19,084. Vincent Scordino, SVP Marketing at distributor Alchemy, was pleased with the film’s bow, noting that it sold out “multiple shows in new York and Los Angeles,” and finished “first in both complexes. “The work Kristen did last week – notably her appearance on Jimmy Fallon – was hugely meaningful. We’re confident that the originality and brilliance of her performance will continue to dazzle audiences as we expand into an additional 50 plus markets this weekend.”

Thomas Vinterberg’s Far From The Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts and Juno Temple also had a decent start. The Searchlight title opened with 10 runs grossing $172K for a $17,200 PTA. Searchlight said in a statement today that even with stiff blockbuster competition, “it is great to have a classic story told by a master filmmaker and with some terrific acting performances, particularly from Carey Mulligan. We look forward to a steady roll-out.”

Iris
Iris

Magnolia Pictures opened the late, great Albert Maysles’ second-to-last film Iris (his In Transit debuted at the recent Tribeca Film Festival) with two NYC locations on Wednesday and four additional L.A. runs that opened Friday. The film, about flamboyant fashion maven Iris Apfel, grossed $63,500 over the weekend and its Wednesday to Sunday gross is estimated at $75,849 ($10,583 average). Magnolia noted this morning that “at Film Forum on Friday night, at least half a dozen women came sporting Iris Apfel’s famous eyeglasses. Many others were decked out in their loudest, most Iris-esque clothes and accessories.” The distributor will add South Florida (where Apfel had a home) as well as San Francisco and Seattle on Friday, with an additional 20 markets May 15.

Star and director Helen Hunt’s Ride did not report numbers as of early afternoon today, though it has placed in the Top 10 overall on iTunes and number 1 on the Independent chart on the platform.

Adult Beginners has continued to do solid business on VOD. RADiUS reported that the title has now cumed $346K on-demand (the figure was $211K last Sunday). The film played an additional 44 theaters in its second weekend, grossing just over $25K from 54 locations for a $464 PTA ($4,013 PTA last weekend from 10 theaters). Theatrically Adult Beginners has now grossed $71,300.

Felix and Meira
Felix and Meira

Oscilloscope added 21 runs for Félix And Meira in its third weekend. The festival favorite grossed over $71K in 25 theaters, averaging $2,843. “We’re excited to report that Félix And Meira expanded successfully into the Bay Area, Scottsdale and New York and LA suburbs this past weekend,” the distributor noted. “We will be adding over a dozen new locations this Friday, the majority of which are in South Florida, with major markets such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, Minneapolis and Atlanta still to come.”

Fashion doc Dior And I continues to turn heads a month into its release. The Orchard added 58 theaters over the weekend, grossing $165K in 101 locations ($1,634 PTA). The title by director Frédéric Tcheng averaged $3,488 last weekend ($150K gross) in 43 theaters. Its 4 week cume is now $500K.

Also noteworthy is Unison/Paladin’s What We Do In The Shadows. The film by and starring Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi is still in 50-plus theaters after 12 weeks and is approaching the $3.3M mark. Over the weekend, the Kiwi vampire title grossed almost $41K ($801 PTA) and has cumed $3.278M.

NEW

Days Of Grace (Cinema Libre) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $2,483
Far From The Madding Crowd (Fox Searchlight) NEW [10 Theaters] Weekend $172K, Average $17,200
Iris (Magnolia Pictures) NEW [6 Theaters] Weekend $63,500, Average $10,583, Cume $75,849 (Wed. Open)
Welcome To Me (Alchemy) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $38,168, Average $19,084

RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND

Adult Beginners (RADiUS) Week 2 [54 Theaters] Weekend $25,060, Average $464, Cume $71,300; VOD Cume $346K
Blackbird (Image Entertainment) Week 2 [9 Theaters] Weekend $12,597, Average $1,400, Cume $70,557

ex machina
ex machina

HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS

Félix And Meira (Oscilloscope) Week 3 [25 Theaters] Weekend $71,063, Average $2,843, Cume $129,623
True Story (Fox Searchlight) Week 3 [296 Theaters] Weekend $165K, Average $557, Cume $4,372,452
Clouds Of Sils Maria (IFC Films) Week 4 [163 Theaters] Weekend $277,100, Average $1,700, Cume $886,464
Dior And I (The Orchard) Week 4 [101 Theaters] Weekend $165K, Average $1,634, Cume $500K
Ex Machina (A24) Week 4 [1,279 Theaters] Weekend $2,230,576, Average $1,744, Cume $10,868,213

Helen Mirren Woman In Gold
Helen Mirren Woman In Gold

Woman In Gold (The Weinstein Company) Week 5 [5 Theaters] Weekend $1,681,000, Average $1,493, Cume $24,588,473
The Salt Of The Earth (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 6 [80 Theaters] Weekend $85,959, Average $1,074, Cume $682,019
While We’re Young (A24) Week 6 [374 Theaters] Weekend $436,458, Average $1,167, Cume $6,445,058
It Follows (RADiUS) Week 8 [171 Theaters] Weekend $92,300, Average $540, Cume $14.284M
Seymour: An Introduction (IFC Films) Week 8 [23 Theaters] Weekend $20,700, Average $900, Cume $580,204
Deli Man (Cohen Media Group) Week 10 [3 Theaters] Weekend $1,703, Average $567, Cume $483,929
The Hunting Ground (RADiUS) Week 10 [10 Theaters] Weekend $4,500, Average $450, Cume $350,900
Wild Tales (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 11 [46 Theaters] Weekend $63,335, Average $1,377, Cume $2,625,821
What We Do In The Shadows (Unison/Paladin) Week 12 [51 Theaters] Weekend $40,874, Average $801, Cume $3,278,646
Timbuktu (Cohen Media Group) Week 14 [3 Theaters] Weekend $3,374, Average $1,124, Cume $1,066,758

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