Specialty Box Office: ‘Fading Gigolo’ Seduces In Limited Opening; ‘Under The Skin’ Passes $1M

Fading Gigolo cashed in at the box office this Easter weekend, catapulting itself to the second-highest theater average of 2014 among specialty releases. The feature directed by John Turturro and starring Turturro, Woody Allen and Sharon Stone opened in five locations in New York and LA on Friday, grossing an estimated $198,399 through Sunday for a solid $39,680 average. That outranks A24′s strong debut for Under The Skin starring Scarlett Johansson, which opened at the beginning of this month. That film, incidentally, passed the $1M cume mark this weekend, with the Jonathan Glazer-directed experimental sci-fi pic grossing $140K in four theaters for a $35K average. The top opener by far of course is Fox Searchlight’s sizzling The Grand Budapest Hotel, which bowed to a record $202K per-theater average March 9.

Related: Box Office: ‘Heaven Is For Real’ Rises, ‘Transcendence’ Descends Into Hell

The opening for Fading Gigolo portends a good run for the comedy, which centers on Fioravante (Turturro), who decides to become a Don Juan as a way of making money for his cash-strapped friend Murray (Allen). Turturro told me last week the film had sold to “top notch” distributors worldwide with strong opens in some international territories ahead of its U.S. launch. “It’s a date movie and even people in their 20s like the movie,” he said. “If they like the movie, then anyone will like the movie.” Millennium Entertainment CEO Bill Lee said this morning that Fading Gigolo is performing better than even hoped. “We saw a spectacular jump from Friday to Saturday, which goes to show that audiences were craving a funny and heartfelt film,” he said. Millennium will hold in NY and LA next week expanding the film to 25 runs in both metropolitan areas. It will head to San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Miami on May 2, then to additional markets May 9.

Related: INTL BO: ‘Spider-Man 2′ Spins $47M Global Web For Biggest Opening Of 2014

Under The Skin saw a sizable expansion and grossed more than $467K in 176 theaters, averaging $2,656. Last week, the film grossed over $309K from 54 runs ($5,727 PTA). Its cume now stands at $1,086,241.

Related: Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Fading Gigolo’, ‘The Final Member’, More

Rialto Pictures opened a 60th anniversary restored version of the original 1954 Japanese Godzilla movie that spawned countless imitations through the decades — including the tentpole that Legendary and Warner Bros tubthumped yesterday at WonderCon. The first non-Americanized feature by Ishiro Honda — released this weekend at New York’s Film Forum as Godzilla: The Japanese Original — grossed a solid $12,500 following a sold-out screening in Hollywood as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival. “Godzilla awareness has been heightened by the new Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures version opening in May,” a Rialto spokesman said today. “They have, in fact, been very supportive of our reissue. Gareth Edwards, director of the new version, introduced the original in both Hollywood and at Austin’s SXSW festival. This is very rare for a big-budget picture — normally the producers want the original suppressed.” Godzilla: The Japanese Original is already booked in 30 markets, with more expected.

Related: ‘Frozen’ Is Highest Animated International Grosser of All-Time

China Lion bowed Hong Kong action crime drama That Demon Within at 16 locations, grossing $65K for a PTA just more than $4K, perhaps an OK start at best for a Cantonese-language pic that had only limited push ahead of its opening. China Lion said today it will wait to see audience reaction before planning an expansion. Radius-TWC’s 13 Sins was a non-starter, grossing just over $9K in 45 theaters for a $206 PTA, though the film was available on-demand.

Sony Classics added 13 runs for the second weekend of Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive starring Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as vampires. The Cannes 2013 debut grossed $134,588 in 17 theaters, averaging $7,916. It’s cume is now nearly $265K. The Weinstein Company took The Railway Man into 22 additional locations in its second frame. It grossed just over $176K for a $6,773 PTA. Sundance Selects added seven theaters for Dancing In Jaffa‘s second weekend, grossing $18K ($2K PTA), while its parent IFC Films added two runs for Hateship Loveship, grossing $9K ($3K PTA).

Fox Searchlight expanded Dom Hemingway into 87 additional theaters in its third weekend. The film grossed $142K for a slight $1,101 PTA and a cume just shy of $277K. Of course, Searchlight has had a treasure-trove of cha-ching courtesy of Grand Budapest Hotel, which continues to check in weekly with spectacular numbers though its theater reach has plateaued. Budapest grossed a stellar $3.425M in 1,280 theaters this frame, averaging $2,676 (placing 12th in the overall box office this weekend). Last week it grossed $4M ($2,750 PTA) in 1,467 theaters. Its seven-week cume is now just under $45M. This week, Budapest will surpass the total domestic gross for Anderson’s previous feature Moonrise Kingdom, which came in for $45.5M in 2012.

In its fourth weekend, Sundance Selects’ docu Finding Vivian Maier continues to show gusto as it adds runs. The film grossed $148,200 from 39 theaters (up from 24 last week), averaging $3,800. It has cumed $510K.

NEW

13 Sins (RADiUS-TWC) NEW [45 Theaters] Weekend $9,261, Average $206
Fading Gigolo
(Millennium Entertainment) NEW [5 Theaters] Weekend $198,399, Average $39,680
Godzilla: The Japanese Original (Rialto Pictures) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $12,500
That Demon Within
(China Lion Films) NEW [16 Theaters] Weekend $65K, Average $4,062

Returning / 2nd Weekend

Dancing In Jaffa (Sundance Selects) Week 2 [9 Theaters] Weekend $18K, Average $2K, Cume $37K
Hateship Loveship (IFC Films) Week 2 [3 Theaters] Weekend $9K, Average $3K, Cume $19K
Joe (Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate) Week 2 [48 Theaters] Weekend $77,140, Average $1,607, Cume $229,634
Only Lovers Left Alive (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 2 [17 Theaters] Weekend $134,588, Average $7,916, Cume $264,760
The Railway Man (The Weinstein Company) Week 2 [26 Theaters] Weekend $176,092, Average $6,773, Cume $264,242

Holdovers / 3RD+ Weekends

Dom Hemingway (Fox Searchlight) Week 3 [129 Theaters] Weekend $142K, Average $1,101, Cume $296,760
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came To Eden (Zeitgeist Films) Week 3 [8 Theaters] Weekend $25,084, Average $3,136, Cume $62,425
Frankie & Alice (Lionsgate/Codeblack) Week 3 [43 Theaters] Weekend $23K, Average $535, Cume $667,281
Under The Skin (A24) Week 3 [176 Theaters] Weekend $467,373, Average $2,656, Cume $1,086,241
The Unknown Known (RADiUS-TWC) Week 3 [49 Theaters] Weekend $33,589, Average $685, Cume $225,561
Watermark (Entertainment One) Week 3 [8 Theaters] Weekend $17,399, Average $2,175, Cume $41,457
Breathe In (Cohen Media Group) Week 4 [6 Theaters] Weekend $1,583, Average $226, Cume $88,118
Cesar Chavez (Lionsgate/Pantelion) Week 4 [117 Theaters] Weekend $80K, Average $684, Cume $5,388,047
Finding Vivian Maier (Sundance Selects) Week 4 [39 Theaters] Weekend $148,200, Average $3,800, Cume $510K
The Raid 2 (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [539 Theaters] Weekend $410,880, Average $762, Cume $2,266,469
Jodorowsky’s Dune (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 5 [31 Theaters] Weekend $44,013, Average $1,420, Cume $311,961
Rob The Mob (Millennium Entertainment) Week 5 [13 Theaters] Weekend $11,983, Average $922, Cume $174,927
Bad Words (Focus Features) Week 6 [223 Theaters] Weekend $175K, Average $785, Cume $7,573,318
Enemy (A24) Week 6 [15 Theaters] Weekend $16,432, Average $1,095, Cume $982,517
On My Way (Cohen Media Group) Week 6 [7 Theaters] Weekend $6,058, Average $865, Cume $264,458
Le Week-End (Music Box Films) Week 6 [149 Theaters] Weekend $277K, Average $1,859, Cume $1,597,721
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight) Week 7 [1,280 Theaters] Weekend $3,425,000, Average $2,676, Cume $44,967,492
The Lunchbox (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 8 [158 Theaters] Weekend $396,962, Average $2,512, Cume $2,267,908
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features) Week 25 [14 Theaters] Weekend $8K, Average $571, Cume $27,288,482
20 Feet From Stardom (RADiUS-TWC) Week 45 [1 Theater] Weekend $150, Cume $4,941,727
50 To 1 (Ten Furlongs) Week 5 [56 Theaters] Weekend $63,619, Average $1,136, Cume $604,759

Related stories

'Breaking Dawn Part 2′ Opens To Behemoth $340.9M Global Weekend ($141.3M Dom + $199.6M Intl): Twilight Saga Record Abroad; Holdover 'Skyfall' #2 & 'Lincoln' #3 Strong

'Iron Man 3′ Breaks Records: $175.3M Sets 2nd Biggest Domestic Opening Weekend; Worldwide Totals Franchise Best $680.1M

The Takeaway On A Record Holiday Weekend? Be Fearless In Making Good Movies And Audiences Will Come

Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter