Brian Brooks is Managing Editor of MovieLine.
On the cusp of going wide, Zero Dark Thirty headed into 55 additional theaters in the first weekend of 2013, maintaining its dazzling momentum. ZDT averaged $45,833 versus $65K per location last weekend in 5 and $82K per cinema in its debut. Amour held its 3 runs in its third weekend, averaging a robust $21,199. The specialty market didn’t have a lot of new titles this weekend aside from the doc 56 Up, which debuted in one location with a solid $20,500. This weekend was all about the expanders, though they were generally blasé. Lionsgate-Summit’s The Impossible debuted in 15 theaters, held the same number in week 2 and added 557 runs this weekend. The results were so-so with a $4,852 average, compared with its $12,300 average last weekend. Matt Damon starrer Promised Land went from 26 to 1,676 theaters with a $2,572 average. Hyde Park On Hudson added 138 runs in its 5th weekend, averaging $4,702.
Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty headed into 9 additional markets over the weekend and bowed solidly in in all of them. Noted Sony: “The top 5 theaters included the Lincoln Square 13 in NY, River East 21 in Chicago, Irvine Spectrum in Irvine CA, Century City 15, and Cinemark West Plano 20 in Texas. We took in $827K on Friday, an estimated $1.055M yesterday and expect another $868L today.”
Critically acclaimed Amour has solid traction. The Palme D’Or winner actually had a 3% increase in its gross, which worked out to a $21,199 average vs. last weekend’s $20,005. Sony Pictures Classics said it will expand the French-language title slowly.
Last night, The Impossible‘s Naomi Watts received a cheerful fete at the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s annual gala, capping the film’s weekend expansion into 557 additional locations with a relatively modest $4,852 average. Promised Land debuted modestly with a 3-day average of $7,606, but enjoyed an uptick on both New Years Eve and New Years Day. The movie about people affected by the controversial natural gas extraction process known as fracking, was 10th in the overall box office, though it averaged $2,572. Fellow Focus Features release Hyde Park On Hudson had a comparatively stronger $4,702 average in its expansion into 222 runs. The company noted its box office jumped 76% Saturday over its Friday take, with momentum from its core art house crowd.
NEW
56 Up (First Run) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $20,500
RETURNING / 2ND WEEKEND
Promised Land (Focus Features) Week 2 [1,676 Theaters] Weekend $4,311,563, Average $2,572, Cume $4,660,965
West Of Memphis (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 2 [4 Theaters] Weekend $8,352, Average $2,088, Cume $39,828
HOLDOVERS / 3RD+ WEEKEND
Amour (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3 [3 Theaters] Weekend $63,596, Average $21,199, Cume $315,011
The Impossible (Summit Entertainment-Lionsgate) Week 3 [572 Theaters] Weekend $2.76M, Average $4,852, Cume $3,417,029
Not Fade Away (Paramount Vantage) Week 3 [565 Theaters] Weekend $280K, Average $495, Cume $427K
On The Road (IFC Films) Week 3 [4 Theaters] Weekend $22,200, Average $3,700, Cume: $145,200
Zero Dark Thirty (Sony) Week 3 [60 Theaters] Weekend $2.75M, Average $45,833, Cume $4,460,132
Hyde Park On Hudson (Focus Features) Week 5 [222 Theaters] Weekend $1,043,980, Average $4,702, Cume $3,217,177
Only The Young (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Week 5 [2 Theaters] Weekend $3,200, Average $1,005, Cume $7,238
Tchoupitoulas (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Week 5 [5 Theaters] Weekend $4,520, Average $904, Cume $10,531
Rust And Bone (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7 [39 Theaters] Weekend $179,125, Average $4,593, Cume $881,242
Anna Karenina (Focus Features) Week 8 [163Theaters] Weekend $356,984, Average $2,190, Cume $11,525,001
Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company) Week 8 [745 Theaters] Weekend $3.611M, Average $4,847, Cume $34,671,059
The Other Son (Cohen Media Group) Week 11 [13 Theaters] Weekend $16,927, Average $1,302, Cume $1,199,098
Holy Motors (Indomina) Week 12 [14 Theaters] Weekend $24,177, Average $1,727, Cume $511,231
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (Summit Entertainment) Week 16 [98 Theaters] Weekend $77K, Average $786, Cume $17,475,290
Samasara (Oscilloscope Laboratories] Week 20 [8 Theaters] Weekend $11K, Average $1,375, Cume $2,638,326
Searching For Sugar Man (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 24 [26 Theaters] Weekend $30,685, Average $1,180, Cume $3,062,629
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