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Indie films helped drive a terrific box office weekend with Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma from Mubi a standout. The edgy director with a dedicated fan base of her own tapped the youthful audience that flocked to Obsession and Backrooms as well as fans of the The X-Files (Gillian Anderson stars), the imprimatur of a Cannes premiere and some of the best reviews of the year for a horror film to drive a stellar limited expansion.
Emmy-winning Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) also stars in the unconventional reimagining of the slasher genre that grossed $907k at 54 theaters in week 2 for a cume of $1.28 million.
“We are seeing more and more fans attracted to this film,” along with a surge in its social media profile, said Mubi distribution chief Mark Boxer. “It’s not one thing. It’s an original film. Jane’s fan base is growing. And there’s the Gillian factor.”
Mubi released it to a mix of traditional arthouses and commercial multiplexes, expanding in NY and LA and adding the top 15 U.S. markets with sold-out shows across locations and day parts — from lunchtime to midnight, he said. It will likely move to circa 500 screens next week.
The film is joined by a truly eclectic mix of indies from Tony and SIX: The Musical Live! (both Focus Features); Trafalgar’s Katseye: Wild Hearts; Angel Studios’ The Brink Of War; The Rivals Of Amziah King from Black Bear; Gkids’ rerelease of Your Name; Neon’s Wrong Girls; and Indian telugu opening Vishwanath & Sons from Shloka Entertainment.
Watermelon Pictures’ documentary American Doctor opened to a notable $40k at the Angelika in NYC, the highest per-screen average for a documentary since The Encampments, also from Watermelon, debuted to a PSA double that in March of 2025.
Janus Films’ release of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s The Samurai And The Prisoner grossed $111k at 78 theaters in week 3 for a cume of over $500k.
A rough tally shows at least $16 million, or 10% of the $160 million estimated weekend box office (as per Rentrak), coming from indie and specialty titles.
“That’s a meaningful share for this market, and these films must be credited for generating solid box office and as important contributors to this blockbuster filled summer season,” says Paul Dergarabedian, box office expert and the firm’s head of marketplace trends.
“What’s particularly notable is the breadth and depth of these specialty titles … coming from a mix of indie/specialty, event cinema, international/local-language and other alternative programming rather than one single breakout title,” he adds. Those have become rarer in the indie world due to shifts in the moviegoing public, a crowded market and a dearth of pure arthouse cinemas.
Moderate and wide releases: Trafalgar Releasing’s KATSEYE: Wild Hearts music event film opened to no. 5 at the box office with an estimated $4 million from 724 theaters.
It was followed by Focus Features’ SIX: The Musical Live! at $3 million in 1,462 theaters, and Angel Studios’ latest, Brink of War, with $2.684 million from 2,083 locations.
Shloka’s Vishwanath & Sons rounded out the top ten with $1.635 million from 350 theaters.
Your Name: 10th Anniversary from GKids landed at $1.58 million on 675 screens.
Black Bear’s Matthew McConaughey-starring The Rivals of Amziah King debuted to $1.027 million at 632 theaters.
A24’s Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony continued in limited release in week 2, grossing a super $707k from 37 screens for a domestic cume of $1.2 million.
Neon’s The Wrong Girls opened with $406.5k at 520 theaters
Elijah Peel from eKKL Entertainment, executive producers Willie and Korie Robertson (Duck Dynasty, The Blind), debuted to $251k at 535 locations.
Limited: Oscilloscope Pictures’ Union County opened with $68.5k at 10 theaters. Its presentation of CatVideoFest 2026 is eyeing $143k in week 2 for an $800k cume.
Flaco the owl documentary Wild Inside from Sandbox Films added $28k on 37 screens for a 10-day cume of $170k.
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