Jazz Doc ‘I Called Him Morgan’ Hits Solid Note; ‘Wilson’ Walks Slow – Specialty B.O.

The first weekend of spring was mostly a chill at the Specialty box office, with only some new and holdovers films getting decent numbers Friday to Sunday. Even some stalwarts were showing signs of fatigue. Newcomer I Called Him Morgan from Submarine Deluxe and FilmRise had the best per theater average from its single New York location, grossing $14K. FIP bowed India’s Phillauri in 74 North American theaters Friday, grossing an estimated $265K, while Searchlight’s Wilson with Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern opened in a fairly sizable 310 locations, but took in just $330K. Among second week holdovers, Sony’s T2 Trainspotting expanded to 59 theaters, grossing $380K, while Terrence Malick’s Song to Song played more locations in its second weekend, taking in just over $142K. Music Box added runs for French title Frantz in its second frame, grossing $50K. CBS Films’ The Sense Of an Ending crossed $1M over the weekend.

Swedish filmmaker Kasper Collin’s documentary on slain jazz musician Lee Morgan topped the weekend’s specialty PTA, bowing in an exclusive engagement at Film Society of Lincoln Center over the weekend. Collin cold-called Submarine about the film, which eventually teamed up with FilmRise for its theatrical release after screenings at the Venice, Telluride, Toronto, New York and London film festivals. The $14K PTA is the second-highest average of all domestic releases, behind Beauty And the Beast’s nearly $21K average from more than four thousand locations.

“After we did a streaming deal in Toronto, the wrap around rights including theatrical rights were available so we brought it to FilmRise, who we knew wanted to collaborate with Submarine Deluxe, and we put the team together,” said Submarine’s Dan Braun earlier this week. “Conventional wisdom is that jazz based films don’t do well, so that dictated that we should go broad and hope we would catch the jazz crowd in the broad marketing.”

I Called Him Morgan will expand to three locations next week before heading to additional markets April 7.

Wilson, starring Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern, opened in a relatively numerous 310 locations this weekend, taking in a slim $330K for an average of $1,065. The debut is a far cry from director Craig Johnson’s previous release, The Skeleton Twins with Kristen Wiig, which Roadside released in 2014 in 15 locations its first weekend, grossing over $380K, averaging $25,379. The Skeleton Twins went on to cume over $5.28M.

FIP bowed fantasy feature Phillauri in 74 locations. The Indian film took in $265K, giving it a $3,581 PTA. “The window between February and March is not a busy period and is a perfect date for good word of mouth films ensuring a long play-out,” explained Fox Star Studios India’s head of International Sales & Distribution, Rohit Sharma. “In 2016, we released hits such as Neerja ($1.58M) and Kapoor and Sons ($2.6M) during this period and have followed this up in 2017 with Jolly LLB 2 ($1.65M) and Badrinath ki Dulhania ($1.89M to date) in the last 2 months…”

Sony/TriStar added 54 runs for Danny Boyle’s T2 Trainspotting in its second weekend. In a total of 59 theaters, T2 grossed $380K, averaging a decent $6,441. T2 opened last week in five locations, grossing $180K, averaging $36K. The feature has now cumed over $613K.

French filmmaker François Ozon’s Frantz played an additional eight theaters in its second frame. The Music Box Films release grossed $50K from 10 runs, averaging $5K ($82,241 cume). Frantz took in $18K in two theaters in its bow last weekend, averaging $9,250.

Terrence Malick’s SXSW opener, Song To Song starring Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Natalie Portman jumped to 80 theaters in its second weekend. Song To Song grossed just over $142K in 80 theaters, averaging $1,775. The film appears to be following a somewhat similar trajectory as Malick’s last release, Knight of Cups, which expanded to 36 theaters in its second weekend and then to 68 in its third, which was its widest number of locations. In week two, Knight of Cups grossed over $95K ($2,657 average) and then over $107K in its third frame ($1,586 average). Song To Song expanded a bit further in its second weekend, though its current cume is between the previous release’s week 2 and 3 totals. Knight of Cups cumed $566K in theaters.

IFC Films added 72 runs for Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper starring Kristen Stewart in week 3 of its release. Personal Shopper grossed $225K in 107 theaters over the weekend, averaging $2,105 (-54%). Last weekend, the title grossed over $158K, averaging $4,529 and a cume of nearly $554K. IFC Films will take Personal Shopper to the top 50 markets next weekend.

Focus Features’ thriller Raw played 27 locations also in its third frame, up from just nine last week. Raw grossed $74K, averaging $2,741. The title grossed close to $43K last week, averaging $4,762 (-43%). It has cumed $186,709.

CBS Films’ The Sense Of an Ending crossed $1M, now in its third weekend, even after shedding some locations. The title grossed $270K Friday to Sunday, averaging $1,150 in 235 theaters. Last week in 282 locations, the feature grossed $475K, averaging $1,684 (-32%).

The sunsets of this past year’s specialty Oscar heavyweights may be in view, though some might still have a bit of life in theaters before it’s all said and done. Best Director winner La La Land from Lionsgate lost 373 runs from last weekend, grossing $200K in 212 theaters, averaging $943, an uptick from last week’s $906 average from a $530K gross in 585 locations. La La Land has cumed over $150.23M.

TWC’s Lion still has a surprisingly strong $1,197 PTA now in its 18th weekend. Lion grossed $383K in 320 theaters Friday to Sunday bringing its cume to over $50.7M.

Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions’ Manchester By the Sea will likely come to a close soon, though it has had a long 19 weeks in theaters and a cume of over $47.65M. Over the weekend, the feature grossed $11,150, averaging $485.

And Best Picture winner Moonlight went from 280 theaters last week to 62 this weekend, though like La La Land, it saw an increase in its week over week PTA. The title directed by Barry Jenkins grossed $82K, averaging $1,362 — up from $967 last weekend from a $270K gross. In 23 weeks, Moonlight has cumed over $27.69M.

NEW RELEASES

I Called Him Morgan (Submarine Deluxe/FilmRise) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $14,154

Phillauri (FIP) NEW [74 Theaters] Weekend $265,000, Average $3,581

Wilson (Fox Searchlight) NEW [310 Theaters] Weekend $330,000, Average $1,065

RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND

Frantz (Music Box Films) Week 2 [10 Theaters] Weekend $50,000, Average $5,000, Cume $82,241

Song To Song (Broad Green Pictures) Week 2 [80 Theaters] Weekend $142,005, Average $1,775, Cume $213,580

T2 Trainspotting (Sony) Week 2 [59 Theaters] Weekend $380,000, Average $6,441, Cume $613,274

HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS

Badrinath Ki Dulhania (FIP) Week 3 [93 Theaters] Weekend $150,000, Average $1,613, Cume $1,898,600

Personal Shopper (IFC Films) Week 3 [107 Theaters] Weekend $225,235, Average $2,105, Cume $553,980

Raw (Focus World) Week 3 [27 Theaters] Weekend $74,000, Average $2,741, Cume $186,709

The Sense Of an Ending (CBS Films) Week 3 [235 Theaters] Weekend $270,000, Average $1,150, Cume $1,024,224

Donald Cried (The Orchard) Week 4 [8 Theaters] Weekend $5,613, Average $702, Cume $43,623

The Last Word (Bleecker Street) Week 4 [380 Theaters] Weekend $520,802, Average $1,370, Cume $971,866

Tim Timmerman: Hope of America (Purdie Distribution) Week 4 [2 Theaters] Weekend $658, Average $329, Cume $87,250

The Women’s Balcony (Menemsha Films) Week 4 [10 Theaters] Weekend $35,252, Average $3,525, Cume $ 201,533

A United Kingdom (Fox Searchlight) Week 7 [159 Theaters] Weekend $185,000, Average $1,164, Cume $3,519,200

Kedi (Oscilloscope) Week 7 [107 Theaters] Weekend $205,000, Average $1,916, Cume $1,759,625

Land Of Mine (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7 [26 Theaters] Weekend $34,283, Average $1,319, Cume $298,567

The Salesman (Cohen Media Group) Week 9 [35 Theaters] Weekend $46,485, Average $1,328, Cume $2,295,569

The Founder (The Weinstein Company) Week 10 [57 Theaters] Weekend $28,000, Average $491, Cume $12,708,542

The Red Turtle (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 10 [127 Theaters] Weekend $31,032, Average $244, Cume $826,807

Paterson (Amazon Studios/Bleecker Street) Week 13 [36 Theaters] Weekend $48,647, Average $1,351, Cume $2,055,878

Toni Erdmann (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 13 [ Theaters] Weekend $, Average $, Cume $

Neruda (The Orchard) Week 15 [15 Theaters] Weekend $20,943, Average $1,396, Cume $867,011

La La Land (Lionsgate) Week 16 [212 Theaters] Weekend $200,000, Average $943, Cume $150,233,687

Lion (The Weinstein Company) Week 18 [320 Theaters], Weekend $383,000, Average $1,197, Cume $50,724,840

Manchester By The Sea (Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions) Week 19 [23 Theaters] Weekend $11,150, Average $485, Cume $47,658,644

Moonlight (A24) Week 23 [62 Theaters] Weekend $82,200, Average $1,326, Cume $27,694,670

Related stories

Woody Harrelson Tackles 'Wilson'; Gravitas Bows 'American Anarchist' - Specialty B.O. Preview

'T2 Trainspotting' Hits Weekend's 2nd Best Average; 'Song To Song' So-So - Specialty Box Office

'Wilson' Review: Woody Harrelson Hits Manic Button In Absurdly Funny Comedy

Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter