The Roadside Attractions Vietnam War drama The Last Full Measure had a solid debut this weekend earning an estimated $1,055,335 on 614 screens. Crossing the million-dollar mark on its first weekend out, the 2020 release is a decent start for Roadside after stellar box office numbers in 2019 with awards season contenders Judy and The Peanut Butter Falcon.
The Todd Robinson-directed pic starring Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer and William Hurt follows the true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen medic who personally saved over 60 men in the Army’s 1st Infantry Division during a devastating 1966 battle, losing his own life in the process. The story jumps ahead 32 years and Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman (Stan) is tasked with investigating a Congressional Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger made by his best friend and partner on the mission (Hurt) and his parents (Plummer and Diane Ladd). The film also features Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Fonda, Ed Harris, LisaGay Hamilton, Amy Madigan, Linus Roache, John Savage, Alison Sudol and Bradley Whitford.
Also having a solid opening this weekend was RLJE Films’ Color Out of Space directed by cult filmmaker Richard Stanley and starring Nicolas Cage. The sci-fi horror grossed an estimated $217,800 on 81 screens this weekend. When added to the $140,364 grossed at Wednesday’s special sneak preview screening, the estimated cume comes in at over $350,000.
Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, Color Out of Space expectedly performed well in New York and Los Angeles. It grossed an estimated $12,000 at the IFC Center in New York and $14,000 at Arclight Hollywood. Various Alamo Drafthouse locations — a perfect venue for a genre film like this — were selling out during the weekend in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, and Denver.
“Richard, Nic, and the Spectrevision team have brought Lovecraft’s story to life in a way that demands to be seen on the big screen,” said Mark Ward, RLJ Entertainment’s Chief Acquisitions Officer. “Color Out of Space is not just a movie, it’s an experience, and we’re thrilled that audiences are coming out to fill up theaters and take the ride together.”
The film, which is currently is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 84% score, is very much in a similar genre world like Mandy which also starred Cage and was a collaboration between RLJE, Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision and XYZ films. Color Out of Space nearly matched Mandy in its opening weekend gross of $225,723. The film is set to expand next weekend.
As we inch closer to awards season, Oscar-nominated pics continue to expand in hopes to make their star shine brighter and pad their box office grosses. Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite boosted its theater count to 1,060 theaters two weeks after the Academy Award nominations. The Neon film continues to hold strong as it crossed the $30 million mark this weekend earning an estimated $2,000,000, further fueling the power of the Bong Hive.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit expanded to 1,160 theaters to help bolster its Oscar run and added an estimated $1,367,000 to Fox Searchlight’s box office bank to bring its cume to $25,942,000. It will further expand next week as it will open in nearly 25 AMC Dolby and large format theatres across the U.S., including the AMC Century City in Los Angeles and New York’s AMC Lincoln Square and the AMC Empire 25.
Meanwhile, Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory starring Antonio Banderas inched closer to a cume of $5 million as it earned an estimated $56,621 while its fellow Best International Feature Film nominee Les Misérables from Amazon Studios jumped to 69 theaters posting $59,674 at the box office this weekend.
Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You added $693,231 to its box office till. The GKIDS anime feature is a bit down from last week’s stellar opening but still performed well in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco bringing its cume to over $6 million.
Other new releases this weekend included the Bollywood pic Panga which earned $276,548 while the Indian sci-fi action film Disco Raja directed by Vi Anand had a soft debut in 135 theaters earning an estimated $172,336. The Hindi-language dance pic Street Dancer 3D also opened and earned $359,412.
NEW RELEASES
Color Out of Space (RLJE Films) – Week 1 [81 Screens] Weekend $217,800, Average $2,689, Cume $358,164
Disco Raja (SRT Entertainments) – Week 1 [135 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $172,336, Average $1,277
Last Full Measure (Roadside Attractions) – Week 1 [614 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $1,055,335, Average $1,718
Panga (Fox Star Studios) – Week 1 [102 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $276,548, Average $2,711
Street Dancer 3D (Viva Entertainment) – Week 1 [190 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $359,412, Average $1,892
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
Weathering With You (GKIDS) – Week 2 [458 Theaters] Weekend $693,231, Average $1,514, Cume $6,552,876
HOLDOVERS/THIRD+ WEEKEND
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (BlueSky Cinemas) – Week 3 [125 Theaters] Weekend $273,880, Average $2,191, Cume $3,438,000
Clemency (Neon) – Week 5 [127 Screens] Weekend $86,500, Average $681, Cume $229,203
Invisible Life (Amazon Studios) – Week 6 [11 Theaters] Weekend $10,970, Average $997, Cume $141,154
Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) – Week 15 [1160 Theaters] Weekend $1,367,000, Average $1,179, Cume $25,942,000
Les Misérables (Amazon Studios) – Week 3 [69 Theaters] Weekend $59,674, Average $865, Cume $207,502
Pain and Glory (Sony Pictures Classics) – Week 17 [68 Screens] Weekend $56,621, Average $833, Cume $4,317,655
Parasite (Neon) – Week 16 [1060 Theaters] Weekend $2,000,000, Average $1,887, Cume $30,939,009
The Song of the Names (Sony Pictures Classics) – Week 5 [182 Screens] Weekend $111,417, Average $612, Cume $663,537
Tanhaji: The Unsung War (Vive Entertainment) – Week 3 [100 Theaters] Weekend $234,364, Average $2,344, Cume $1,919,000
Uncut Gems (A24) – Week 7 [490 Theaters] Weekend $703,150, Average $1,435, Cume $47,681,505