‘The End Of The Tour’, ‘Best Of Enemies’, ‘Listen To Me Marlon’ Post Strong Debuts: Specialty B.O.
The End Of The Tour, A24’s Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel pic about writer David Foster Wallace and a reporter profiling him, got off to a solid beginning with a launch in 4 New York and L.A. theaters, one of a handful of new specialty movies this weekend. A couple of high profile Sundance docs also performed well in their openings. Magnolia’s Gore Vidal/William F. Buckley doc Best Of Enemies did fine in three theaters, and Showtime Documentary Listen To Me Marlon had a respectable debut in two cinemas. A Lego Brickumentary opened slow but built some blocks on demand. And Broad Green expanded Samba by 20 additional theaters in its second frame.
James Ponsoldt’s The End Of The Tour grossed $126,459, averaging $31,615. That’s an impressive per screen debut for a Sundance 2015 acquisition, beating Fox Searchlight’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s opening weekend PTA of $13,100. So that The End of the Tour finds bigger audiences via word of mouth, A24 will be adding major markets in the coming weeks. The top openings to date for 2015 Sundance fare were wide releases, read Open Road’s Dope ($6.1M) and IFC’s The D Train ($448K). However, rather than let those films linger during the summer, there’s the argument that their distributors went too wide, too soon as opposed to platforming them to even bigger crossover crowds.
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Magnolia and Participant’s Best Of Enemies had a good start in a trio of locations. The feature grossed $54K, averaging $18K. Not bad at all for a film about two east coast intellectuals massaging the political divide. Said Magnolia Sunday reporting its numbers: “We were very pleased with how many moviegoers chose to watch William Buckley and Gore Vidal take each other down in Best of Enemies. With David Foster Wallace, Marlon Brando, and even Chris Farley making their posthumous cases in New York and Los Angeles cinemas, Bill and Gore provided some historical fireworks of their own, paving the way to our second highest per screen average this year, after The Wolfpack.“
Best Of Enemies will add five additional markets next weekend and will expand to additional cities through August.
Showtime gave a full-on theatrical bow to Stevan Riley’s Listen To Me Marlon ahead of its bow on the channel this fall. In 2 theaters, the Sundance doc grossed over $29K, averaging $14,608. It has cumed over $37K since opening Wednesday. ““We’re incredibly proud of Listen To Me Marlon and excited that critics and audiences have responded so positively, with rave reviews and sold out theaters,” said Showtime president David Nevis in an email reporting numbers Sunday. “Developing this project with our passionate team of producers, John Battsek and RJ Cutler, and the incredibly talented director Stevan Riley, has been an incredibly rewarding experience. We’re thrilled to honor the memory of Marlon Brando, a true artist who changed acting and film forever.” The film will head to major markets through the rest of summer.
Kino Lorber opened The Kindergarten Teacher in a single NYC location grossing $10K. The company gave kudos Sunday to a good review in The New York Times for giving momentum to the Cannes 2014 feature. It will open in L.A. August 14 and will expand in the New York area in addition to other markets later this month.
RADiUS opened A LEGO Brickumentary in 93 theaters with a slow start. It grossed just over $42K, giving it a $455 PSA, though it was also on demand as well where it found the bulk of its viewers. RADiUS said it grossed $163K on VOD and was the number one documentary on iTunes and placed 13th overall. Virgil Films did not report numbers for its doc I Am Chris Farley, which opened this weekend.
Like RADiUS, The Orchard reports some on demand numbers. It said its doc Dior And I grossed $325K this week. The film is in its 17th weekend in theaters, grossing over $1200 in two theaters. Dior And I has cumed$1,028,137 theatrically.
TWC opened The Young & Prodigious T.S. Spivet in 100 theaters. It basically tanked, grossing $31K, averaging $310.
Broad Green added 20 theaters for Samba, its third release going into its second weekend. The feature lost a bit of steam, grossing nearly $40K in 22 theaters, averaging $1,807. It opened in two theaters last weekend grossing $24,101. Sundance Selects added two runs for Phoenix, grossing nearly $50K in four locations, giving it a solid $12,488 average, which is notable considering it had a $14,105 average in two theaters last weekend when it opened. And Lionsgate/Pantelion’s The Vatican Tapes remained in 427 theaters in its second frame, grossing $310K for a $726 average, down from last weekend’s $850K ($1,991 average) in the same number of theaters.
Roadside/Miramax added 215 theaters for Mr. Holmes‘ third weekend, grossing over $2.4M in 901 theaters and handily crossing the $10M cume. The feature averaged $2,680.
NEW
Best Of Enemies (Magnolia Pictures/Participant) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $54K, Average $18K
Listen To Me Marlon (Showtime Documentary Films) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $29,215, Average $14,608, Cume $37,227 (Wed. Open)
The End Of The Tour (A24) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $126,459, Average $31,615
The Kindergarten Teacher (Kino Lorber) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $10K
A LEGO Brickumentary (RADiUS) NEW [93 Theaters] Weekend $42,250, Average $455; VOD Week 1: $163K
The Young & Prodigious T.S. Spivet (The Weinstein Company) NEW [100 Theaters] Weekend $31K, Average $310
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
Phoenix (Sundance Selects) Week 2 [4 Theaters] Weekend $49,952, Average $12,488, Cume $102,451
Samba (Broad Green Pictures) Week 2 [22 Theaters] Weekend $39,761, Average $1,807
The Vatican Tapes (Lionsgate/Pantelion) Week 2 [427 Theaters] Weekend $310K, Average $726, Cume $1,516,373
HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS
Irrational Man (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3 [135 Theaters] Weekend $509,528, Average $3,774, Cume $1,146,859
Mr. Holmes (Roadside Attractions/Miramax) Week 3 [901 Theaters] Weekend $2,414,316, Average $2,680, Cume $10,385,695
The Stanford Prison Experiment (IFC Films) Week 3 [79 Theaters] Weekend $112,180, Average $1,420, Cume $243,721
Do I Sound Gay? (Sundance Selects) Week 4 [16 Theaters] Weekend $9,808, Average $613, Cume $56,824
Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures) Week 4 [38 Theaters] Weekend $64K, Average $1,684, Cume $417,543
Amy (A24) Week 5 [245 Theaters] Weekend $413,958, Average $1,689, Cume $6,405,470
Cartel Land (The Orchard) Week 5 [43 Theaters] Weekend $42,705, Average $993, Cume $556,243
Infinitely Polar Bear (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 6 [110 Theaters] Weekend $112,935, Average $1,027, Cume $1,141,326
The Overnight (The Orchard) Week 7 [9 Theaters] Weekend $8,867, Average $985, Cume $1,097,406
Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (Fox Searchlight) Week 8 [73 Theaters] Weekend $45K, Average $616, Cume $6,562,140
Love & Mercy (Roadside/Lionsgate) Week 9 [103 Theaters] Weekend $92,156, Average $895, Cume $12,220,558
Heaven Knows What (RADiUS) Week 10 [2 Theaters] Weekend $420, Average $210, Cume $80,013
I’ll See You In My Dreams (Bleecker Street) Week 12 [79 Theaters] Weekend $63,527, Average $804, Cume $7,208,582
Dior And I (The Orchard) Week 17 [2 Theaters] Weekend $1,245, Average $622, Cume $1,028,137; VOD: $325K
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