It was a booming box office weekend overall with a duo of event films popping too as fans flooded Pink Floyd and flocked to Mozart. On Swift Horses debuted in moderate release, Magic Farm opened at one theater. The Legend Of Ochi and The Shrouds expanded.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, the concert film from Sony Music Vision and Trafalgar Releasing, has grossed an estimated $2.6 million in North America for a no. 9 spot. Digitally re-mastered in 4K from the original 35mm footage by Pink Floyd’s director of restoration, Lana Topham, and featuring newly enhanced audio mixed by Steven Wilson, this release presents the definitive version of the film from Sony Music’s Film and TV division.
Pink Floyd At Pompeii predates the release of The Dark Side Of The Moon and the film documents the band before they became giants on both sides of the Atlantic. Set in the ruins of the ancient Roman amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy, this film captures Pink Floyd performing an intimate concert without an audience in 1971 — the first live concert to take place at Pompeii. It features Echoes, A Saucerful of Secrets, and One of These Days as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the band beginning work on The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road Studios.
The film will be followed by the live album from Legacy Recordings, the catalogue division of Sony Music, on CD, Digital Audio and for the first time in Dolby Atmos, and vinyl starting May 2.
The Met: Live in HD transmission of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro grossed $933.8k in North America on about 800 screens on Saturday, continuing a strong run for the simulcast series from Fathom Entertainment. Conducted by Joana Mallwitz in her Met debut, and starring sopranos Federica Lombardi and Olga Kulchynska, mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce, baritone Joshua Hopkins, and bass-baritone Michael Sumuel, it was no. 9 on Saturday.
There’s a loyal core audience for The Met: Live in HD. Its transmission of Beethoven’s Fidelio grossed over $860k at about 800 cinemas at a Saturday night screening in March. Fathom and the Metropolitan Opera have been partners in this since 2006.
Sony Pictures Classics’ On Swift Horses by Daniel Minahan opened to $606k on 555 screens. The distributor still has The Penguin Lessons in week 5 at $71.7k on 82 screens for a cume of $2.98 million.
Limited openings: Mubi’s Magic Farm by Amalia Ulman grossed $20.5k at an exclusive run at the Angelika in NYC.
Dekanalog opened Constance Tsang’s Cannes-premiering debut feature Blue Sun Palace in 5 theaters to an $11.9k ($8.5k at the Metrograph with shows sold out shows) for a gross of $24.4k including previews. “We have been thrilled to discover that public and critical enthusiasm for the film so far matches our own, and look forward to what should be a healthy theatrical run nationwide over the coming weeks,” said Sam Wunderl, partner at Dekanalog.
Metrograph Pictures debuted Venice prize-winning film April at 2 locations in NYC to a gross of $11.2k. The Luca Guadagnino-produced sophomore feature from Dea Kulumbegashvili begins its nationwide expansion next weekend starting with Los Angeles on May 2.
Korean film A Normal Family from new indie distributor Room 8 Films is at $16k on 8 screens. Director Hur Jin-ho has been Q&A doing at Angelika in NYC and Landmark Nuart in LA.
Expansions: A24 saw The Legend Of Ochi to $1.4 million on 1,153 screens in a big week 2 expansion for a cume of $1.5 million and a no. 9 spot at the domestic box office.
David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds from Sideshow/Janus Films expanded to 279 screens for a nice estimated $302.k and a cume of $368.6k.
Bleecker Street’s The Wedding Banquet by Andrew Ahn is at an estimated $272k at 506 locations in week 2 for a cume of $1.6 million.
Still in theaters: In its fourth weekend, Blue Harbor Entertainment’s release of A Nice Indian Boy grossed an estimated $52.7k on 41 screens for a new cume of $677.4k.
Documentary No Other Land grossed $14.4k on 18 screens in week 13 for a cume of $2.4 million.
Doc Secret Mall Apartment from Wheelhouse/mTuckman media is at an estimated $28.3k on 6 screens for a cume of $442k.