Specialty Box Office: ‘Before Midnight’ Bows With A Bang’; 4-Day Estimates
Brian Brooks is a Deadline contributor.
UPDATE 2:00 PM: Sony Pictures Classics‘ Before Midnight has struck box office gold Memorial Day weekend. The start of the summer 2013 blockbuster season will be for Fast & Furious 6 to celebrate, but Midnight clearly resonated with audiences searching for an alternative. The film, directed by Richard Linklater, opened in 5 theaters grossing $321,914 and averaging $64,383. In 2004, Warner Independent debuted Before Sunset in 20 theaters, averaging $10,971. That film went on to gross $5.82 million domestically. “We think the reputation of this film stands on its own whether you’ve seen those or not,” said SPC co-president Michael Barker. “So it has the benefit of being related to those films, but it also has the benefit of being the finest of the three.” SPC will take Before Midnight wide June 14th. In other openers, Sony Classics also opened Fill The Void in three locations. That film took in $79,164, averaging a solid $26,388.
Last weekend’s specialty box office winner Frances Ha held steady in its second weekend. IFC Films added 56 theaters in its second weekend of release, grossing $708,000 for a $11,800 average. Noted IFC Films: “Frances Ha expanded to the top 20 markets to fantastic results this Memorial Day weekend. Initial runs remained very strong with minimal drops signifying the comedy’s positive word of mouth. The new markets were also excellent buoyed by phenomenal reviews (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and an extensive advanced screening program. Frances Ha will continue its aggressive platform release as the film will open the top 50 markets this weekend.”
The English Teacher opened slowly and it continued its sluggish numbers in its second weekend. It averaged $1,654 from an $11,578 gross in seven theaters. Last weekend, it opened on two runs, averaging $3K.
Roadside Attractions‘ Mud once again easily maintained its lofty place as the highest grossing film among the specialty titles reporting. The film, starring Matthew McConaughey grossed $2,427,000 from 712 theaters ($3,408 average). Mud‘s PSA actually increased over last weekend, coming in at $3,408 vs. $2,250, though the title played in 248 fewer theaters Memorial weekend.
4-day holiday weekend estimates:
NEW
Before Midnight (Sony Pictures Classics) NEW [5 Theaters] 4-Day Weekend $321,914, Average $64,383
Fill The Void (Sony Pictures Classics) NEW [3 Theaters] 4-Day Weekend $79,164, Average $26,388
A Pig Across Paris (Rialto Pictures) NEW (Re-release) [1 Theater] Weekend $11K
We Steal Secrets (FocusWorld) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $27,689, Average $6,922
Returning / 2nd Weekend
The English Teacher (Cinedigm) Week 2 [7 Theaters] Weekend $11,578, Average $1,654
Frances Ha (IFC Films) Week 2 [60 Theaters] 4-day Weekend $708,000, Average $11,800, Cume $912,239
Holdovers / 3RD+ Weekends
Stories We Tell (Roadside Attractions) Week 3 [26 Theaters] Weekend $143,456, Average $5,518, Cume $372,993
The Iceman (Millennium Entertainment) Week 4 [258 Theaters] Weekend $394,580, Average $1,529, Cume $1,472,463
Love Is All You Need (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [63 Theaters] 4-day Weekend $281,062, Average $4,461, Cume $486,033
Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s (Entertainment One) Week 4 [36 Theaters] Weekend $67,550, Average $1,876, Cume $276,989
What Maisie Knew (Millennium Entertainment) Week 4 [27 Theaters] Weekend $154,247, Average $5,712, Cume $304,999
Kon-Tiki (The Weinstein Company) Week 5 [64 Theaters] Weekend $167K, Average $2,609, Cume $667,497
Mud (Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate) Week 5 [712 Theaters] 4-day Weekend $2,427,000, Average $3,408, Cume $15,034,297
In The House (Cohen Media Group) Week 6 [21 Theaters] Weekend $23,766, Average $1,132, Cume $354,153
The Company You Keep (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 8 [96 Theaters] 4-day Weekend $160,656, Average $1,674, Cume $4,776,159
The Place Beyond The Pines (Focus Features) Week 9 [128 Theaters] Weekend $164,376, Average $1,284, Cume $20,958,099
The Sapphires (The Weinstein Company) Week 10 [61 Theaters] Weekend $71K, Average $1,164, Cume $2,110,704
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