Oscilloscope Laboratories’ Cannes Jury Prize Winner and Independent Spirit international film winner Joyland led New York’s Film Forum to one of its biggest opening weekends for a foreign language film in nearly a decade, taking in north of $21k on one screen, the distributor said. Buoyed by strong reviews and strategic marketing, the film by Saim Sadiq sold out nine showtimes, with the theater adding additional shows.
The first Pakistani film to officially compete at Cannes it screened in Un Certain Regard winning the Jury Prize then playing at TIFF, Sundance and New Directors/New Films. It is still banned in much of Pakistan due to themes of queerness and inclusiveness. Expands to LA on April 21, then to top 50 markets and beyond.
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It was a decent weekend for specialty and arthouse fare with some solid openings amid lots of competition, including from wide-release adult fare like Air. That relatively speaking, since Covid hit the box office, older and arthouses audiences are still the slowest to return to theaters.
The widest was Paint from IFC Films starring Owen Wilson, which grossed $750k on just over 800 screens. The Brit McAdams’ film, with Wilson playing a Bob Ross-like host of a Vermont public television instructional art show, is no. 9 at the domestic box office.
Neon presented How To Blow Up A Pipeline in 12 locations to a nice $120.5k weekend debut for a PTA of $10k. The R-rated eco-thriller by Daniel Goldhaber stars Sasha Lane, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Jake Weary, Forrest Goodluck and Ariela Barer.
A24 opened Showing Up in four locations in NY/LA to a strong weekend debut of $66.9k, for a per-theater-average of $16.7k. Indie auteur Kelly Reichardt reunites with Michelle Williams in art school comedy that sold out Q&As and posted the highest grossing weekend at the Angelika in NYC so far this year, the distrib said. Opens in select top markets next weekend ahead of a platform rollout.
Other openings: Pantelion’s La Usurpadora opened at 300+ locations at $140k. An adaptation of one of the most successful telenovelas of all time in the late ‘90s brought to the big screen as a movie musical.
Notable holdovers: Focus Features 2023 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner A Thousand And One grossed $600k in week two in 900+ theaters for a cume to date of $2.96M. It’s no. 10 at the box office this weekend.
Wide for specialty but continuing to post major numbers, His Only Son from Angel Studios grossed a hefty $3.25 million in week two for a no. 6 box office spot and a total estimated cume of over $11 million. The film directed by David Helling portrays a contention event in the Old Testament, when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on the mountain of Moriah.
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