Friendship is out at 6 locations to a stellar debut weekend of $451k, and per theater average of $75.43k. That’s the highest limited opening this year and a boost the indie market’s been waiting for even as the broader box office picks up.
Only Watermelon Pictures’ documentary The Encampments, which debuted on one screen in late March to $77k, had a higher per theater opening of $77k.
R-rated comedy Friendship stars Tim Robinson as suburban dad Craig, whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a new neighbor (Paul Rudd). As Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend, things spiral out of control, and their blossoming relationship threatens to ruin both of their lives. The TIFF-premiering film saw dozens of sellouts in both New York and Los Angeles with raucous crowds and great word-of-mouth. Fans of Tim Robinson and his Netflix series I Think You Should Leave were excited to see his signature, hilariously cringey comedy on the big screen for the first time, and alongside Rudd. Opens select markets next weekend before a limited nationwide expansion over the Memorial Day holiday.
Wide: Briarcliff opened Juliet & Romeo in 1,350 theaters to a debut weekend of $350k. A pop music rendition of the world’s most famous star-crossed lovers
Moderate: Watch The Skies grossed $128k on 110 domestic AMC theaters in top 20 markets. Distributed by Flawless/XYZ Films in partnership with Falling Forward Films, this is a proof of concept as the world’s first theatrical full-length feature to use AI for immersive dubbing from a company called Flawless. Shot in Swedish, the dubbing (which has SAG’s full endorsement) makes the characters appear to be speaking English as it seamlessly integrates the voices of the dubbing actors – the original cast actually speaking English — into the film with perfect lip sync.
The film follows a rebellious teenager who believes her missing father was abducted by aliens. Joining forces with a quirky UFO club of endearing misfits, she embarks on a high-stakes adventure that defies the law and challenges the very fabric of reality. Stars Inez Dahl Torhaug, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey, Eva Melander, Håkan Ehn, Isabelle Kyed, Mathias Lithner, Niklas Kvarnbo Jönsson.
Directed and produced by Crazy Pictures; Written by Jimmy by Nivrén Olsson, Crazy Pictures.
Limited releases: Oscilloscope’s Tall Tales debuted in 46 theaters to $66.4k. Mark Pritchard, Thom Yorke and Jonathan Zadawa’s collaborative audio-visual cinema experience is a fairytale for the modern world and the film struck a chord in a tightly controlled, small footprint in support of the artists’ newly released album, playing to sold out crowds across markets.
Rachel Feldman’s Lilly, starring Patricia Clarkson as equal-pay trailblazer Lilly Ledbetter, debuted at $52.7k at 50 locations The release by Blue Harbor Entertainment will add additional markets in the weeks to come.
Sideshow/Janus Films’ release of Cannes-premiering Caught By The Tides, a film 20 years in the making from renowned filmmaker Jia Zhangke grossed an estimated $33.8k on 2 screens in New York for a per-screen average of $16.9k, the highest to date for one of Jia’s films. Expands next week to LA, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Dallas, Atlanta and San Diego with additional expansion planned throughout through July.
Holdover: On the heels of a buzzy NYC opening last weekend, Utopia expanded Pavements to LA for $22.9k and a domestic cume through Sunday of $44.1k. The LA opening was led by a sold out Vidiots sneak preview followed by continued sell outs at Landmark’s NuArt on Friday and Saturday. NuArt brought in $12K alongside a strong second week holdover in NYC at Film Forum, where Fri/Sat prime shows continued to sell out. The roadshow expands to San Francisco and Brooklyn ahead of more limited engagements late May and a national expansion June 6.
Noting indies IFC Films, Vertical and Angel Studios all have films in the top ten this weekend, respectively, new wide-releases Clown In A Cornfield and Fight Or Flight at nos. 5 and 7, and The King of Kings rounding out the list in week 5. Clown is IFC’s biggest ever debut.