My Life As a Zucchini, GKIDS’ Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, headlines a mostly quiet weekend an the Specialty box office, opening in two locations grossing over $28K. Roadside Attractions bowed romantic-drama Bitter Harvest with Max Irons in 127 theaters Friday, grossing over $207K. Pantelion/Lionsgate’s Everybody Loves Somebody remained in 333 locations in its second frame, grossing $410K. On Academy Awards weekend, the collection of 2017 Oscar Nominated Shorts expanded to 274 locations in its third outing, grossing $417K. Fox Searchlight added over a hundred runs for A United Kingdom over the weekend, crossing a million dollars. Also crossing seven figures was Independent Spirit Award winner Toni Erdmann, which had a small expansion this weekend. And yesterday’s big Spirit Awards winner, Moonlight, in now at nearly $22.3M.
Oscar-nominated stop-motion animated feature My Life As a Zucchini topped this weekend’s per theater average as of Sunday morning. Directed by Claude Barras, the GKIDS release grossed $28K in two theaters, averaging $14K. The distributor touted its debut in New York and Los Angeles Sunday along with its critical response.
GKIDS
“We are very proud of My Life As a Zucchini’s great opening this weekend at the Landmark Sunshine and Nuart theaters,” the company said when reporting its numbers today. “With an Oscar nomination and 100% positive reviews, the film has clearly had an impact on audiences of all ages, with both matinees and evening shows reported as sold out this weekend. We will be rooting for the film at the Academy Awards tonight, and look forward to sharing this remarkable film with audiences nationwide, as we begin a platform expansion to over a dozen locations next weekend.”
Roadside Attractions bowed George Mendeluk’s Bitter Harvest with 127 runs Friday. The title starring Max Irons and Samantha Barks had a fairly slow start, taking in $207K, averaging $1,631. Roadside used its 2015 Oscar weekend launch of war drama ’71 as a rough template for Bitter Harvest’s roll-out, positioning the feature as an alternative for Oscar-weary audiences. That film, directed by Yann Demange, however, opened in only four theaters in late February of 2015, grossing $55,761 and eventually cumed over $1.27M. That may be a challenging total for Bitter Harvest.
In its second weekend, Pantelion/Lionsgate’s romantic-comedy Everybody Loves Somebody played 333 theaters, the same number as its debut. The film grossed $410K, averaging $1,231, down about 59% from its three-day average of just over $3K last weekend. Everybody Loves Somebody has cumed over $1.67M.
The 2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films played an additional 26 locations over last weekend, holding solid. In 274 theaters, this year’s collection grossed $417K, averaging $1,524. Last weekend, the collection grossed $600K in 248 locations, averaging $2,419. It has cumed over $2.5M, which is very closed to the total domestic box office of last year’s 2016 Oscar Nominated Short Films, which totaled just over $2.8M.
Fox Searchlight
Fox Searchlight added 103 runs for A United Kingdom starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike. The title grossed $548K in 148 theaters, averaging $3,703. “We are now playing in some of the very best art houses in the country and we can see that good word of mouth is starting to take hold,” noted Searchlight’s Frank Rodriguez in an email Sunday. “There are also good results in some suburban upscale multiplexes which tells us that the film may be starting to reach a broader audience. Even more promising are the strong holdover percentage drops which show that audiences are slowly responding to our rollout and that they will eventually find this well written and well-acted true story.”
Searchlight will add 40-plus new markets as well as expanding in already opened cities. The feature will be in between 250 and 300 locations by March 3.
Oscilloscope added six runs for its cat doc Kedi in its third frame. Kedi grossed $115K in thirteen locations, averaging a still strong $8,865. The company sang its praises Sunday as it moved into new runs in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston and Philadelphia.
Oscilloscope
“The film easily fended off strong holds from Oscar nominees, ranking first in complex at all new locations and selling out numerous shows,” the distributor said Sunday when giving its numbers. “Kedi also saw significant Friday-to-Saturday jumps in all added markets and, notably, a nearly 50% increase Friday-to-Saturday in grosses cumulatively. Next week, Kedi expands aggressively to 60+ locations including the Bay Area, Seattle, Minneapolis, Scottsdale, South Florida and the New York tri-state suburbs. We believe it’s well-positioned to capitalize on screens vacated by Oscar nominees, and fully expect momentum to continue building as it reaches wider national audiences.”
Sony Classics’ Best Foreign Language nominee Land Of Mine grossed $15K, averaging $1,896 in 8 theaters, up from five runs last week. The company’s fellow nominee, Toni Erdmann, which won the Independent Spirit Award in the international category on Saturday in Santa Monica, grossed $140,417 in 112 theaters, ten more over last weekend. Toni Erdmann averaged $1,254 and a cume that is now in seven figures at $1.1M.
SPC added 79 runs for Oscar-nominated animation The Red Turtle in its sixth weekend. The feature grossed $120,437, averaging $1,047. Last weekend, it averaged $1,828 in 36 locations. The Red Turtle has cumed $595,540.
Isabelle Huppert won the Spirit Award for Best Actress in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle and is up for an Oscar Sunday night. Marking its fourth month in release stateside, Elle grossed $89K, averaging $606. The feature has cumed just over $2.23M.
A24’s Moonlight was the big winner at the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday, picking up six wins including Best Picture and Best Director for Barry Jenkins. Moonlight played an additional 130 theaters vs. last weekend, grossing nearly $766K in a total of 585 locations ($1,309 average). The film has now cumed over $22.28M.
Roadside Attractions
NEW RELEASES
Bitter Harvest (Roadside Attractions) NEW [127 Theaters] Weekend $207,235, Average $1,631
My Life As A Zucchini (GKIDS) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $28,206, Average $14,103
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
Everybody Loves Somebody (Pantelion/Lionsgate) Week 2 [333 Theaters] Weekend $410,000, Average $1,231, Cume $1,676,952
HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS
2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films (ShortsHD/Magnolia Pictures) Week 3 [274 Theaters] Weekend $417,522, Average $1,524, Cume $2,506,678
A United Kingdom (Fox Searchlight) Week 3 [148 Theaters] Weekend $548,000, Average $3,703, Cume $1,027,500
Kedi (Oscilloscope) Week 3 [13 Theater] Weekend $115,250, Average $8,865, Cume $303,048
Land Of Mine (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3 [8 Theaters] Weekend $15,167, Average $1,896, Cume $68,254
Chapter & Verse (Paladin) Week 4 [1 Theater] Weekend $3,022, Cume $73,970
The Comedian (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [30 Theaters] Weekend $10,509, Average $350, Cume $1,648,418
Magnolia
I Am Not Your Negro (Magnolia Pictures) Week 4 [309 Theaters] Weekend $760,000, Average $2,460, Cume $4,615,360
Mr. Gaga (Abramorama) Week 4 [2 Theaters] Weekend $5,929, Average $2,964, Cume $111,900
Un Padre No Tan Padre (Pantelion/Lionsgate) Week 5 [52 Theaters] Weekend $34,000, Average $654, Cume $2,102,067
The Salesman (Cohen Media Group) Week 5 [97 Theaters] Weekend $170,122, Average $1,754, Cume $1,423,902
The Founder (The Weinstein Company) Week 6 [161 Theaters] Weekend $166,000, Average $1,031, Cume $12,331,775
The Red Turtle (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 6 [115 Theaters] Weekend $120,437, Average $1,047, Cume $595,540
20th Century Women (Annapurna/A24) Week 9 [64 Theaters] Weekend $67,072, Average $1,048, Cume $5,452,892
Paterson (Amazon Studios/Bleecker Street) Week 9 [55 Theaters] Weekend $87,072, Average $1,583, Cume $1,704,773
Toni Erdmann (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9 [112 Theaters] Weekend $140,417, Average $1,254, Cume $1,182,589
Julieta (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 10 [33 Theaters] Weekend $42,052, Average $1,274, Cume $1,338,635
Neruda (The Orchard) Week 11 [27 Theaters] Weekend $27,684, Average $1,025, Cume $728,029
Lionsgate
La La Land (Lionsgate) Week 12 [1,733 Theaters] Weekend $4,600,000, Average $2,654, Cume $140,860,065
Jackie (Fox Searchlight) Week 13 [112 Theaters] Weekend $105,000, Average $938, Cume $13,713,943
Lion (The Weinstein Company) Week 14 [1,802 Theaters], Weekend $3,807,000, Average $2,113, Cume $42,815,337
Manchester By The Sea (Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions) Week 15 [442 Theaters] Weekend $487,500, Average $1,102, Cume $46,881,913
Elle (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 16 [147 Theaters] Weekend $89,082, Average $606, Cume $2,231,287
The Eagle Huntress (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 17 [22 Theaters] Weekend $15,223, Average $692, Cume $3,058,865
Moonlight (A24) Week 19 [585 Theaters] Weekend $765,908, Average $1,309 , Cume $22,286,232