Indies Pull Their Weight As ‘Nosferatu’ Reigns, ‘The Substance’ Ramps Back Up, ‘The Brutalist’ Builds On Imax — Specialty Box Office
It not a blockbuster MLK weekend but indies are out in force with The Brutalist continuing to surprise, The Substance adding theaters and Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown and Babygirl holding at nos. 7, 8 and 10 at the domestic box office.
Robert Eggers’ vampire fest from Focus Features had a $4.3 million weekend with a cume of $89.4 million for Nosferatu; Searchlight Pictures Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown starring Timothee Chalamet is at $57.6 million after a $3.8 million weekend; and A24’s psycho-sexual Nicole Kidman-starrer Babygirl is estimating $2 million and a $25.4 million cume. All cumes are for the three-day weekend. Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
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Meanwhile, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, also from A24, grossed $1.98 million for the three-day weekend and $2.4 million for the four-day MLK holiday frame in a big expansion to 338 screens – up from $1.39 million on 68 screens last weekend. It’s seeing strong exits and sold-out shows, especially 70mm and Imax, which generated $460k of Imax box office. It now has an Imax cume of $770k out of a $5.86 million total.
The box office attraction continues to be relatively unique for a three hour and forty five-minute epic with an intermission set in Doylestown, Pa. about a WWII Hungarian Jewish refugee architect, with a modest $10 million budget. The multiple Golden Globe-winner will continue to expand next weekend including at Imax locations.
Buzzy new opening I’m Still Here by Brazilian director Walter Salles, from Sony Pictures Classics, opened to a nice $125.4k at five locations for a per screen average of $25.1k and a cume of $153.1k including gross from its 2024 Academy run. Star Fernanda Torres won the Golden Globe for Best Actress – Drama in a competitive field.
As Oscar nominations approach, many contenders are either back or expanding.
Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing starring Colman Domingo and a terrific ensemble of formerly incarcerated men returned to 560 screens and also screened at prisons across 46 states this weekend. The A24 film is pushing an estimated $290k over the four days for a cume of $3.05 million. It will continue play in theaters ahead of a Jan. 31 home entertainment release.
Mubi bumped The Substance starring Demi Moore back up to 481 screens with $234k for the three days, and $293k for the four days, in week 18 for a cume of $16.7 million.
And Neon’s Anora, the Cannes Palme d’Or-winner by Sean Baker, is seeing $183k for the 3 days and $227.1k for the 4 days on 536 screens– up from 111 last week — for a cume of $14.85 million in week 14.
Oscar contenders: Pamela Anderson toplined The Last Showgirl from Roadside Attractions is looking at an estimated 3-day gross of $893k on 946 screens, and a 4-day gross of $1.13 million for a cume of $3.38 million in week 2.
SPC’s latest Pedro Almodovar and his first in English, The Room Next Door, grossed $659.5k on 861 screens (a big expansion from 44 last week). That’s a cume of $1.34 million in week 5 for the film starting Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.
Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios’ awards contender Nickel Boys by RaMell Ross grossed $297k for the three-day weekend from 240 theaters in a big week 6 expansion, up from 26. For the four-day holiday weekend, the film grossed $340k putting its cume at $992k.
Hard Truths from Bleecker Street will gross an estimated $153.2k and $190.9k for the three and four days, respectively, on 121 screens in a nice expansion its second weekend for a cume of $420.8k. The Mike Leigh film stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
Other new openings: Blue Fox Entertainment’s family adventure Autumn And The Black Jaguar is reporting a $171k opening through Sunday and $246k through Monday with 605 runs.
Oscilloscope’s re-release DIG! XX is at $12k on three screens for the three day weekend. The newly restored and expanded edition of Ondi Timoner’s groundbreaking 2004 rock ‘n roll documentary had sold out shows at New York’s IFC Center and LA’s Vidiots. Expands to over fifty markets next week with substantial ticket pre-sales already logged in Brooklyn, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin and Portland.
Mubi is out new this weekend with documentary Grand Theft Hamlet, estimating $1.05k for the three days and $1.36k for the four days
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