All was fairly quiet on the specialty box office front for the first weekend of November when it came to new releases, which gave the opportunity for Neon’s critically-acclaimed Parasite to flourish even more and the Fox Searchlight’s World War II satire Jojo Rabbit to shine brighter. However, things didn’t turn out so well for this weekend’s new releases such as the NBA betting scandal film Inside Game shot a brick.
Now in its fourth week out, The Bong Joon Ho dark comedy continues to get word of mouth from cinephiles who are fans of the auteur and moviegoers who just want to see a refreshing film that entertains and speaks to the times. Parasite expanded from 129 screens to a staggering 461, earning an estimated $2,630,000. Audiences came out to see the comedic thriller in droves with Saturday being its best day as it earned over $1 million. With its estimated weekend cume of $7,530,551, the film continues to be a tasty peach at the specialty box office, with New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, DC, Seattle, and Austin being their best markets. In Parasite continues this momentum, it could very well be a crossover contender during the throes of award season.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit also made a huge expansion from 55 to 256 theaters in its third week, earning an estimated $2,397,000 for the weekend bringing its cume to $4,282,000. That said, audiences showed up all over the country to watch Waititi’s skewering performance as an imaginary Hitler alongside a breakout performance from Roman Griffin Davis who plays the titular Jojo as well as his scene-stealing buddy Yorki played by the amazingly charming Archie Yates. We have learned that the Fox Searchlight pic delivered solid numbers in big cities as well as smaller markets in art house theaters. Expectedly, the film had its based markets in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco but it also impressed in Dallas, DC, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Denver and Austin, where they had limited runs. The film will tack on 35-40 more new markets next week including Boise, El Paso, Honolulu, New Orleans, Reno among others. This would bring its expansion to 600-750 total locations for November 8. The numbers, critical buzz, word of mouth and vast expansion works in the film’s favor for award season.
The performance of Parasite and Jojo Rabbit eclipsed the new releases for the weekend of November 1 — which was quiet and disappointing. Inside Game, which tells the true story of NBA referee Tim Donaghy and the betting scandal which rocked the basketball world in 2007 — but it didn’t rock the specialty box office. The film from iDreamMachine and Raw Milk had 128 runs and double dribbled its way to an estimated low debut of $57,608 with a screen average of $450.
Also opening the first weekend of Novemeber was the documentary American Dharma. The interview between Errol Morris and divisive Stephen K. Bannon filled out enough time to make a feature and opened exclusively at the New York at the Film Forum. We are hearing that there were sold-out Q&As on Friday and Saturday, but the film still opened fairly soft at an estimated $7,522. American Dharma opens in Los Angeles next week at the Alamo Drafthouse and Laemmle in hopes to pad that number.
Ira Sachs’s Frankie expanded to 11 screens to a fairly soft second week. The Sony Pictures Classics family drama starring Isabelle Huppert earned an estimated $26,259 bringing its cume to $52,360. On a brighter note, the Pedro Almodóvar and Antonio Banderas vehicle Pain and Glory performed well for Sony Pictures Classics in its fifth week out. Currently on 111 screens, it managed to earn $348,315 for the weekend crossing the $2 million mark in its cume with $2,171,337.
A24’s mad capped black and white fever dream The Lighthouse starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe sailed from 586 screens to a whopping 978 and it continued to deliver strong numbers. The film earned an estimated $2,021,410 for the weekend, bringing its cume to $7,000,545.
With its estimated weekend gross, The Lighthouse is honing in on the number 13 spot in the top 20 films for the weekend. Also knocking on the door of the top 10 are the aforementioned Parasite which is at number 11 while Jojo Rabbit sits at 12.
It also should be noted that Netflix’s The Irishman opened in limited release in eight theaters in New York and Los Angeles including the Belasco and the Egyptian. The theatrical release of Martin Scorsese’s three and a half hour organized crime epic is ahead of its debut on Netflix on November 27. To no surprise, Netflix has not released any box office numbers as they like keeping their cards close to their chest, but eight theaters seems like a low theater count for a film of this prestige and caliber.
NEW RELEASES
American Dharma (Utopia) – Week 1 [1 Theater] Weekend $7,522
Daaka (Viva Entertainment) – Week 1 [67 Theaters] Weekend $133,299, Average $1,990
Inside Game (iDreamMachine/Raw Milk – Week 1 [128 Theaters] Weekend $57,608, Average $450
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
Frankie (Sony Pictures Classics) – Week 2 [11 Screens] Weekend $26,259, Average $2,387, Cume $52,360.
Housefull 4 (Fox Star Studios) – Week 2 [315 Theaters] Weekend $413,000, Average $1,312, Cume $1,711,000
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (Matson Films) – Week 2 [11 Screens] Weekend $9,727, Average $884, Cume $26,100
HOLDOVERS/THIRD+ WEEKEND
Gift (Matson Films) – Week 4 [10 Screens] Weekend $6,772, Average $677, Cume $22,068
Jay & Silent Bob Reboot (Saban Films) – Week 3 [15 Screens] Weekend $225,925, Average $15,061, Cume $1,925,958
Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) – Week 3 [256 Theaters] Weekend $2,397,000, Average $9,363, Cume $4,282,000
Judy (Roadside Attractions) – Week 6 [604 Screens] Weekend $582,625, Average $964, Cume $22,928,554
The Lighthouse (A24) – Week 3 [978 Screens] Weekend $2,021,410, Average $2,067, Cume $7,000,545
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (Greenwich Enterainment/1091) – Week 9 [94 Theaters], Weekend $90,374, Average $961, Cume $3,968,675
Monos (Neon/Participant Media) – Week 8 [10 Screens], Weekend $4,230, Average $423, Cume $405,076
Official Secrets (IFC Films) – Week 11 [25 Theaters] Weekend $13,162, Average $526, Cume $1,980,643
Pain and Glory (Sony Pictures Classics) – Week 5 [111 Screens] Weekend $348,315, Average $3,138, Cume $2,171,337
Parasite (Neon) – Week 4 [461 Screens] Weekend $2,630,000, Average $5,705, Cume $7,530,551
The Peanut Butter Falcon (Roadside Attractions/Armory Films) – Week 12 [122 Screens] Weekend $110,425, Average $823, Cume $20,245,191
Where’s My Roy Cohn? (Sony Pictures Classics) – Week 7 [64 Screens] Weekend $36,210, Average $566, Cume $646,105