Yes, this is the lowest grossing weekend of 2025 to date, but not for opera, as the specialty market found its maestro, Ludwig van Beethoven.
The Met: Live in HD transmission of Beethoven’s Fidelio grossed over $860k at about 800 cinemas on Saturday night, one screening.
Conducted by Susanna Mälkki, and starring soprano Lise Davidsen, tenor David Butt Philip, and soprano Ying Fang, the title had the second highest per-screen average of all filmed content across North America and ranked 11 at North American box office yesterday. Encore screenings will play select U.S. cinemas March 19 and Canadian cinemas on March 29, 31, and April 2.
Fathom is the North American distributor. The live transmission was directed for cinema by Gary Halvorson and hosted by tenor Ben Bliss.
The Met: Live in HD — live high-definition cinema simulcasts that do tend to pop — now in its 18th season, is available in more than 1,800 theaters in 60 countries. Upcoming performances: Le Nozze di Figaro (April 26), Salome (May 17) 2025) and Il Barbiere di Siviglia (May 31).
Passion and politics also drove the indie box office. Other notable specialty releases include Briarcliff Entertainment’s October 8, which opened at 127 locations grossing an estimated $190.5k. This documentary unpacks the explosion of antisemitism on college campuses, on social media and in the streets of America, in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
And, as the mayor of Miami Beach, Florida threatened to shut down an arthouse movie theater for showing Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, branding the film as antisemitic, the doc continued to add screens in week 7 to 138 (up by 13). The film by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli activists and filmmakers is looking at a strong estimated weekend gross of $166k and a new cume of $1.39 million.
Generally, however, audiences appear to be in a dour mood and slow to rush out to cinemas, reviews notwithstanding, without a big studio tentpole to ground moviegoing.
Cannes-premiering Eephus from Music Box Films, at 100% with critics (45 of them) on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed $77k at 30 locations in week 2 for a cume of $107k. The film, which expanded to top markets including LA, Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Seattle and Phoenix, was still the highest-grossing pic at several top theaters including the Somerville Theatre and the Avalon Theatre in DC. Adds Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Houston, Tampa, and elsewhere next week.
Neon’s The Actor starring Andre Holland opened to $20.2k on 23 screens.
The distributor’s The Monkey showed some staying power in week 4 on 2,294 screens with $2.46 million for the three days and a $35.2 million cume. Its Oscar-winner Anora is chugging along with $640k on 1,000+ screens for a $19.9 million cume after more than five months.
Faith-based The Last Supper from Pinnacle Peak Pictures, from executive producer and Christian music superstar Chris Tomlin, is at no. 6 on 1,575 screens with a $2.82 million opening.
Indies, in fact, populated the top ten.
Focus Features had two, opening Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag at no. 3 with $7.5 million on 2,700 screens, and also rounds out the domestic box office with Last Breath looking at $2.3 million for the weekend on 2,660 screens for an $18.5. million cume in week 3.
The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie from Falling Forward Films, turned indie after being rescued from Warner Bros., opened to $3.17 million on 2,827 screens. Directed by Peter Browngardt, the film features Porky Pig and Daffy Duck as unlikely heroes who uncover a secret alien mind control plot.
A24’s Opus, at 1,764 locations, opened $1 million. The R-rated horror film by Mark Anthony Green stars John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett and Amber Midthunder. The Brutalist is still on 43 screens for a $47k weekend and a $16.2 million cume.