Do insomniacs get in free?
It may have been a weak weekend at the multiplex for new movies, but the new entries on the specialty scene got off to a smashing start. “Sleepwalk With Me,” Mike Birbiglia’s film version of his stage monologue played in just one theater (the IFC in New York), but earned $65,000. So Birbiglia and Glass’s plan to overtake “The Avengers” is off to a fine start. IFC Films, the studio behind “Sleepwalk” released this statement:
“As a joke Avengers director Joss Whedon recently declared war on our film, so we’re surprised to see that our per screen average is so much higher than The Avengers‘ $47,698 per screen [opening]. We look forward to beating his worldwide gross of $1.5 billion in the coming weeks.”
Indeed. The film expands this week, heading to Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Portland, Seattle; it will be in 22 locations by August 22nd.
“Samsara,” another new opener, also had a great weekend. In two theaters it earned $75,000 for a $37,500 per screen average. Two other new films, “Little White Lies” and “Neighboring Sounds” also had good starts.
Amongst holdovers, well, “Cosmopolis” proved itself no master of the universe. After opening well last week in just a few locations, this week it expanded for 63 theaters total and averaged just $2,435 per screen. Curiosity about Robert Pattinson will only carry a movie so far; in this case, not very far at all. “Robot and Frank” held better, with $6,325 from 46 theaters. “Compliance” stayed small with $4,800 per screen from ten theaters. “Celeste and Jesse Forever” has quietly had a solid release, crossing the one million dollar mark this weekend.
Next week! For a late summer holiday weekend we have a pretty large number of releases:the well-received festival comedy “For a Good Time, Call…,” Orlando Bloom in the long-delayed “The Good Doctor,” Jessica Biel in the thriller “The Tall Man” (no, not “The Tall Guy”), the doc “The Ambassador,” Asian action films “Bullet Vanishes” and “Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.” So a little bit of something for everyone! Now let’s see if everyone comes out to find their something…
