
Sundance doc Kusama – Infinity rolled out in two locations Friday, easily taking the top spot among the weekend’s new Specialty films. The Magnolia Pictures feature about Japanese artist Yayoi Kusaa grossed $30,400, averaging $15,200. The total gave it the highest per theater average among all releases as of Sunday morning.
Sundance ’18 docs generally dominated the roster of new limited releases reporting this weekend. 4th Row Films bowed Robert Greene documentary Bisbee ’17 with an exclusive run, grossing $6,650 in the three-day, while Oscilloscope opened Hal, a look at Oscar-winning filmmaker Hal Ashby, exclusively at IFC Center in New York, grossing $5,150. Hal will next head to the Nuart in L.A. before moving into the top 20 markets throughout September.
Ethan Hawke’s Blaze made its New York debut in three theaters Friday after opening with runs in Texas in August. The title, released via Sundance Selects, did solidly with runs at IFC Center, The Landmark 57 West and Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn, all of which hosted Q&As with Hawke and cast. In 20 locations, which includes Blaze’s runs in Texas and Tennessee, the title grossed $59,729 in the three-day, averaging $2,986. Breaking out its opening New York numbers, Blaze grossed just over $45K, averaging $15,031.

Sundance Selects expanded Pick Of The Litter to 10 theaters in its second frame, grossing $48,368, averaging $4,837. The doc about five puppies training to be service animals. Pick Of The Litter debuted last weekend with a $9,539 three-day average. IFC Films said Sunday it will continue its slow roll-out of the film, opening in Austin, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Phoenix next weekend.
Pantelion/Lionsgate also kept its Mexican drama Ya Veremos in the same number of locations for its second frame. Ya Veremos has an estimated $770K gross in 369 theaters this Friday through Sunday, averaging $2,087 (-57%). The film grossed $1.8M in the three-day the weekend prior, averaging $4,878. Ya Veremos has cumed over $3.3M.
Focus Features added three runs for The Little Stranger in its second outing, grossing a slow $65K in 477 theaters, averaging $140. The Little Stranger took in $505K in the three-day last weekend, averaging just $881. It has cumed $678K.
Marking its first full month in theaters, Sony Pictures Classics’ The Wife starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce crossed $2M. In the three-day, the title grossed just under $713K, averaging $4,660. In the three-day last weekend, feature grossed over $524K ($6,724 average).
Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace is edging to $6M, which it should cross in the coming week. The Bleecker Street release starring Thomas McKenzie and Ben Foster grossed $45,150 in 94 theaters, averaging $480, bringing its cume to over $5.97M.
Also approaching another box office milestone is Neon’s Three Identical Strangers, which is at $11.91M as of Sunday morning. In 132 locations, the Sundance doc grossed $155K in the three-day estimate, averaging $1,174 in its eleventh weekend in theaters.
And Focus Features doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is at $22.58M. It took in $40K in 92 locations Friday to Sunday. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? will likely stand as the 12th highest-grossing non-fiction title.
NEW RELEASES
Bisbee ’17 (4th Row Films) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $6,650, Cume $9,062 (Wed. Open)
Hal (Oscilloscope) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $5,150
Kusama – Infinity (Magnolia Pictures) NEW [2 Theaters] Weekend $30,400, Average $15,200
Realms (The Film Arcade) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $118, Average $39
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
Active Measures (Super LTD) Week 2 [1 Theaters] Weekend $2,253, Average $19,862
The Little Stranger (Focus Features) Week 2 [477 Theaters] Weekend $65,000, Average $140, Cume $678,000
Pick Of The Litter (Sundance Selects) Week 2 [10 Theaters] Weekend $48,368, Average $4,837, Cume $71,463
Ya Veremos (Pantelion/Lionsgate) Week 2 [369 Theaters] Weekend $770,000, Average $2,087, Cume $3,315,037
HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS
Beautifully Broken (ArtAffects) Week 3 [50 Theaters] Weekend $21,602, Average $432, Cume $1,171,576
The Bookshop (Greenwich Entertainment) Week 3 [124 Theaters] Weekend $248,505, Average $2,004, Cume $800,235
John McEnroe: In The Realm Of Perfection (Oscilloscope) Week 3 [12 Theater] Weekend $11,250, Average $938, Cume $73,650
Papillon (Bleecker Street) Week 3 [117 Theaters] Weekend $56,039, Average $479, Cume $2,291,744
Blaze (Sundance Selects) Week 4 [20 Theaters] Weekend $59,729, Average $2,986, Cume $192,622
Juliet, Naked (Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate) Week 4 [467 Theaters] Weekend $670,120, Average $1,435, Cume $2,457,583
We The Animals (The Orchard) Week 4 [42 Theaters] Weekend $54,233, Average $1,291, Cume $285,075
The Wife (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [153 Theaters] Weekend $712,970, Average $4,660, Cume $2,037,257
Madeline’s Madeline (Oscilloscope) Week 5 [31 Theater] Weekend $15,850, Average $511, Cume $147,776
Far From The Tree (Sundance Selects) Week 7 [10 Theaters] Weekend $6,156, Average $615, Cume $147,502
Puzzle (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 7 [131 Theaters] Weekend $121,010, Average $924, Cume $1,821,605
Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood (Greenwich Entertainment) Week 7 [14 Theaters] Weekend $9,392, Average $671, Cume $436,594
Blindspotting (Summit Entertainment/Lionsgagte) Week 8 [44 Theaters] Weekend $37,000, Average $841, Cume $4,313,425
McQueen (Bleecker Street) Week 8 [15 Theaters] Weekend $19,899, Average $1,327, Cume $1,227,667
Eighth Grade (A24) Week 9 [176 Theaters] Weekend $182,000, Average $1,034, Cume $13,281,648
Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna) Week 10 [72 Theaters] Weekend $83,440, Average $1,159, Cume $17,247,424
Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street) Week 11 [94 Theaters] Weekend $45,150, Average $480, Cume $5,979,789
Three Identical Strangers (NEON/CNN Films) Week 11 [132 Theaters] Weekend $155,000, Average $1,174, Cume $11,912,946
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Focus Features) Wee 14 [92 Theaters] Weekend $40,000, Average $440, Cume $22,581,000
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