Robert Pattinson sparkles at the specialty box office.
You’ve got to give Robert Pattinson credit–while in the middle of a very public personal crisis, he went out and promoted a small indie movie like it was a “Twilight” installment. You could argue that “Cosmopolis” had some built in audience thanks to the followings of director David Cronenberg and author Don DeLillo, but it’s hard to deny the impact of the sensationalism surrounding Pattinson on the box office. And pretty decent box office it was–the film averaged $24,109 per screen for $72, 327. Next week it will expand to twenty locations.
Other new movies also had good starts. “Robot & Frank” averaged $19,117 from two theaters and will expand next week. Craig Zobel’s much-talked about “Compliance” opened with a solid $16,000 from one theater.
Neal Block of Magnolia Pictures, the distributor behind “Compliance,” said:
“We’re really pleased with the numbers. In a weekend crowded with specialized openings, people came out to see Craig [Zobel's] thought-provoking movie. It’s impossible not to talk about Compliance once you’ve seen it – to analyze it, to praise or criticize the actions of the characters, to wonder how you’d act in a similar situation. These conversations, along with our strong reviews, will carry the film into its expansion next week.”
“Compliance” will move into a few other cities next weekend, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Other new movies didn’t do so well. “The Awakening,” a thriller which received mixed reviews, averaged $1,348 from 70 theaters. “Chicken with Plums,” from Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi (“Persepolis”) averaged $5,604 from two theater, less than half of “Persepolis’s” debut in in 2007. Okay, I’ll just come out and say it: I don’t think people want to see movies with “chicken in the title.” Put a new title on that movie and people would at least consider it.
Amongst the holdovers, “2 Days in New York,” “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” “Killer Joe,” and “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” maintained solid box office as they expanded.
Next week! After so many openings this week, it’s bound to be a little quieter, with mostly small docs opening. The biggest narrative movie opening is “Sleepwalk with Me,” Mike Birbiglia’s threat to “The Avengers” box office records, which will play in one theater. It’s on. It is so on.
Here are the numbers [courtesy of Deadline]
NEW
The Awakening (Cohen Media Group) NEW [70 Theaters] Weekend $94,377, Average $1,348
Beloved (Sundance Selects) NEW [5 Theaters] Weekend $27,500, Average $5,500
Chickens With Plums (Sony Pictures Classics) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $11,207, Average $5,604, Cume $53,383 (includes numbers from Canada where it was released previously.)
Compliance (Magnolia Pictures) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $16K
Cosmopolis (Entertainment One) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $72,327 Average $24,109, Cume $268,900 (includes numbers from Canada where it was released previously.)
Robot & Frank (Samuel Goldwyn Films) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $38,234, Average $19,117
Side By Side (Tribeca Film) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $7,200
Returning / 2nd Weekend
2 Days In New York (Magnolia Pictures) Week 2 [14 Theaters] Weekend $86K, Average $6,143, Cume $123,928
Holdovers / 3RD+ Weekends
Celeste And Jesse Forever (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3 [67 Theaters] Weekend $250,874, Average $3,744, Cume $619,435
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (Sundance Selects) Week 4 [31 Theaters] Weekend $46,500, Average $1,500, Cume $320,200
Killer Joe (LD Entertainment) Week 4 [42 Theaters] Weekend $147,350, Average $3,508, Cume $663,007
