July 23, 2017

Amazon’s ‘Landline’ Leads Specialized Releases, Followed by Indian Rom-Com ‘Fidaa’

As “The Big Sick” crosses over to 2,500 theaters and “Dunkirk” takes up all the oxygen as the best-reviewed film of the year, this is a quiet moment for specialized releases. Here’s where they stand.

Opening

Landline (Magnolia) Metacritic: 65; Festivals include: Sundance, San Francisco, Seattle 2017

$52,336 in 4 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $13,084

Amazon brought Magnolia on board to handle theatrical on this Sundance acquisition, a complicated family drama about adult kids dealing with parental infidelity and sibling dynamics, with an eclectic cast including Edie Falco, John Turturro, and Jenny Slate. Opening in four top New York/Los Angeles theaters, this scored the best numbers for the weekend but otherwise not especially impressive. Saturday grosses fell slightly from Friday (in-person appearances were a likely factor).

What comes next: Magnolia adds 35 new dates this Friday as Amazon continues its commitment to the traditional three-month window.

The Midwife (Music Box) Metacritic: 63; Festivals include: Berlin 2016, Seattle 2017

$20,250 in 3 theaters; PTA: $6,750

This French drama with Catherine Deneuve is at three ideal New York/Los Angeles locations, including the Francophile Paris in Manhattan. That helped raise its grosses to still mixed results, as French films continue to struggle on art-house screens.

What comes next: This expands to 25 total screens this Friday.

International releases:

Fidaa (Big Sky) – $(est.) 1,050,000 in 139 theaters; PTA: $7,554

A strong initial result for Sekhar Kammula’s Indian romantic comedy, his first in Telugu.

Week Two

Lady Macbeth (Roadside Attractions)

$123,140 in 40 theaters (+35); PTA: $3,079; Cumulative: $219,420

An aggressive expansion for the second weekend of this 19th-century erotic drama that’s more akin to Flaubert or Lawrence than Shakespeare, with average results. A strong Saturday boost over Friday could suggest initial positive response from an older audience.

Endless Poetry (Abkco)

$(est.) 28,000 in 11 theaters (+9); PTA: $(est.) 2,545; Cumulative: $(est.) 64,000

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s late-life recounting of his Chilean childhood expanded to other large cities, with a result that doesn’t quite sustain its initial New York/Los Angeles momentum.

Ongoing/expanding (Grosses over $50,000 in under 1,000 theaters)

Maudie (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 14

$390,198 in 233 theaters (+134); Cumulative: $4,065,000

Most of the film’s North American gross comes from Canada, the country that produced it and served as its setting. The total gross for the U.S. is $1.4 million.

The Beguiled (Focus) Week 5

$251,600 in 331 theaters (-395); Cumulative: $10,155,000

Sofia Coppola’s period Gothic drama will end up at about a fifth of her biggest success, “Lost in Translation” (adjusted gross: $65 million).

Courtesy of Sundance

Little Hours (Gunpowder & Sky) Week 3

$162,530 in 114 theaters (+9); Cumulative: $971,637

This contemporary-dialogue comic adaptation of “The Decameron” isn’t getting the same response as its initial platform dates, with a per-theater average of under $1,500 in limited release.

A Ghost Story (A24) Week 3

$141,148 in 43 theaters (+23); Cumulative: $480,478

A continued modest result for David Lowery’s acclaimed reteaming of Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara.

The Hero (The Orchard) Week 7

$145,214 in 191 theaters (-124); Cumulative: $3,705,000

Another summer specialized release for an older audience. Decent response, but likely didn’t get higher because of the amount of alternative films for the same group.

Beatriz at Dinner (Roadside Attractions) Week 7

$114,342 in 116 theaters (-89); Cumulative: $6,706,000

Miguel Arteta’s dinner-gone-wrong drama continues its decent run as one of the above-average recent specialized performers.

Lost in Paris (Oscilloscope) Week 6

$61,500 in 42 theaters (no change); Cumulative: $242,176

Unsophisticated Canadians bewildered in the French capital continues its niche fun as another subtitled film getting modest results. In the same number of theaters it held well, dropping only about 25 percent.

Paris Can Wait (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 11

$53,784 in 66 theaters (-111); Cumulative: $5,449,000

Eleanor Coppola’s film winds down its run after a respectable art-house showing.

Also noted:

The Women’s Balcony (Menemsha) – $34,469 in theaters; Cumulative: $978,263

City of Ghosts (IFC) – $18,216 in 18 theaters; Cumulative: $73,216

The B-Side (Neon) – $16,265 in 25 theaters; Cumulative: $94,584

13 Minutes (Sony Pictures Classics) – $11,984 in 19 theaters; Cumulative: $74,540

Source: IndieWire film