Audiences love that Killer Joe!
We had several new entries into the art house circuit this weekend and all of them had solid debuts. Hooray! Everyone’s happy.
The ultra-violent “Killer Joe,” which had struggled to get released with its NC-17 rating, proved that audiences are interested after all, becoming the weekends top earning new movie with a per screen average of $12,621 at three theaters. Art house patrons: they’re just like us. Oh, and welcome again to the Year of Matthew McConaughey.
The well-reviewed romantic comedy “Ruby Sparks” also got off to a good start, with $11,683at 13 theaters. Next week it will expand to 65-70 locations so we’ll see if word of mout follows.
“Klown,” the feature version of a popular Dutch comedy TV show earned $28,000 from three locations. It will also expand to a few more locations next week. Drafthouse Films is confident that the film’s humor will translate well and hopes it will be a crossover hit. The doc “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” did okay in its first weekend, with $9,000 from five locations. Another highly touted doc, “Searching for Sugar Man,” also debuted with $28,533 from three theaters for a per screen average of $9,511.
In holdovers, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” continued its strong showing as it expanded with 79 theaters. Fox Searchlight is excited about it:
We have now passed such notable films as Shame, Vera Drake, Requiem For A Dream, Melinda And Melinda and Like Crazy” said Frank Rodriguez, Fox Searchlight’s SVP Domestic Distribution. “Next week we will be in our national release, adding 12-14 new markets while playing this unique and inspiring film in between 250 and 300 theaters.”
That is the most random list of comparative films I’ve ever seen.
How about next week? We have “360,” the eight millionth version of “La Ronde,” whch was not well-received earlier this year on the festival circuit, plus the comedies “The Babymakers” and “Celeste and Jesse Forever.”
