Focus Features proved this weekend that Jane Austen’s classic of romantic misadventures and the humor that goes with it remains timeless. Emma, Autumn de Wilde’s visionary and fresh adaptation of the Austen novel, opened in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles to strong numbers, grossing an estimated $230,000. This brought the per-theater average to $46,000, which is the highest of any specialty opening this year — not too shabby for the Anya Taylor-Joy period rom-com.
The five runs across the Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse, and Angelika in New York and the Arclight Hollywood and Landmark in Los Angeles are all reporting impressive numbers, as the film sits at an 88% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and audiences seem to love it, as they have ranked it at 100%.
Emma.‘s box office performance echoes similar openings of period pieces for Focus Features, including Victoria & Abdul (2017), which opened in four theaters with a per-theater average of $40K before going on to bank $22M at the domestic box office. In 2018, Mary Queen of Scots also opened in four theaters with an average of $49K PTA and went on to earn $16.5M domestic. Four theaters seemed to be a magic number for Focus, as 2016’s Love & Friendship opened to a per-screen average of $33K, with a final domestic box office of $14M.
If word of mouth and positive buzz for the film continues, it is on track to continue this stellar performance when it expands to approximately 100 theaters in 25 markets.
The pranking, hidden camera hijinks of Impractical Jokers: The Movie snuck into the specialty box office space and had the last laugh, posting very solid numbers in 380 runs, with big numbers in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The movie, based on WarnerMedia’s truTV unscripted series (the big-screen version incorporates pranks into a narrative), banked an estimated $1,961,015 at the end of day Saturday and is honing-in on $2,568,000 for the entire weekend. If the momentum continues, it can pad its box office cume as it goes wider next week.
Amazon Studios’ Seberg earned $60,487 in its three runs for its theatrical debut after its qualifying run last year. The Benedict Andrews-directed thriller about the real-life actress Jean Seberg started off strong at the Arclight Hollywood in L.A., banking a little over $14K. But attendance dropped over the weekend. In New York, we are hearing the numbers were not as strong at the Angelika and Landmark. Fingers crossed that the film gains traction next weekend when it opens in over 300 theaters nationwide.
Daniel Roher’s debut feature documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band performed similarly to Seberg at the Arclight Hollywood on Friday, earning an estimated $13.1K, but saw a decline over the weekend. As for its other three locations in New York and L.A., we are hearing the Magnolia Pictures docu didn’t perform as well. Overall it, is looking at a weekend gross of $41,500 before expanding to 140 screens in 40 markets next weekend.
Oscilloscope Labs’ CatVideoFest 2020 clawed its way into 30 screens across the country. It earned an estimated $220,150. Sellout theaters were reported this weekend including New York, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Raleigh and Grand Rapids.
The fest celebrates cats via the best videos culled from a variety of submissions — and it is catnip for feline lovers. Last year, CatVideoFest grossed over $500K. This year, O-scope was expecting to earn over $100K and they certainly surpassed that. They are on their way to surpass 2019’s gross as they add add approximately 80 locations next weekend with over 200 engagements confirmed nationwide.
Other openings for the weekend include Pantelion Films’ Las Pildoras De Mi Novio (My Boyfriend’s Meds) which opened soft overall with an estimated $1,425,000 on 350 screens. The Telugu-language rom-com Bheeshma opened to the tune of $650K while the groundbreaking same-sex Bollywood pic Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan earned an estimated $689K. The IFC Films coming-of-age drama Premature debuted at a little over $11K while GKIDS’ latest Ride Your Wave added $15,430 to its box office till which includes $300,789 from its special premiere event in about 600 locations last week.
In its second week out, Searchlight Pictures’ Downhill is struggling after last week’s slow start. The Force Majeure remake starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis Dreyfus earned an estimated $1,475,000 this weekend, falling considerably from its opening of $4.6 million. Neon‘s Portrait of a Lady on Fire maintained solid numbers in its expansion to 130 runs in 40 markets, earning an estimated $715,000 in its third week out. Céline Sciamma’s French period romantic drama is still burning bright in New York, L.A. and San Francisco and is lighting up well in the new markets of Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Austin. As for Neon’s Oscar-winning prize Parasite, it expectedly dropped to $3,121,000 this weekend after getting a post-Oscars box office surge. Even so, it is still earning major coin and is on track to $55M at the domestic box office.
NEW RELEASES
Bheeshma (BlueSky Cinemas) – Week 1 [140 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $650,000, Average $4,644
CatVideoFest 2020 (Oscilloscope Labs) – Week 1 [30 Screens] Weekend/Cume $220,150, Average $7,338
Emma. (Focus Features) – Week 1 [5 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $230,000, Average $46,000
Impractical Jokers: The Movie (WarnerMedia) – Week 1 [357 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $2,568,000, Average $5,493
Las Pildoras De Mi Novio (My Boyfriend’s Meds) (Pantelion Films) – Week 1 [350 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $1,425,000, Average $4,071
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (Magnolia Pictures) – Week 1 [4 Screens] Weekend/Cume $41,500, Average $10,375
Premature (IFC Films) – Week 1 [4 Screens] Weekend/Cume $11,089, Average $2,772
Ride Your Wave (GKIDS) – Week 1 [12 Theaters] Weekend $15,430, Average $1,1286, Cume $316,129
Seberg (Amazon Studios) – Week 1 [3 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $60,487, Average $20,162
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (Friday Entertainment) – Week 1 [175 Theaters] Weekend/Cume $689,000, Average $3,936
RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND
Downhill (Searchlight Pictures) – Week 2 [2311 Theaters] Weekend $1,475,000, Average $638, Cume $7,448,000
The Times of Bill Cunningham (Greenwich Entertainment) – Week 2 [8 Theaters] Weekend $29,178, Average $3,647, Cume $81,673
HOLDOVERS/THIRD+ WEEKEND
Beanpole (Kino Lorber) – Week 4 [27 Screens] Weekend $28,985, Average $1,074, Cume $107,789
Clemency (Neon) – Week 9 [8 Screens] Weekend $3,861, Average $483, Cume $361,720
Created Equal: Clarence Thomas His Own Words (Blue Fox Entertainment) – Week 4 [53 Theaters] Weekend $32,912, Average $621, Cume $243,382
Incitement (Greenwich Entertainment) – Week 4 [11 Screens] Weekend $13,819, Average $1,256, Cume $119,513
Jojo Rabbit (Searchlight Pictures) – Week 19 [385 Theaters] Weekend $459,887, Average $1,195, Cume $32,722,000
The Last Full Measure (Roadside Attractions) – Week 5 [83 Screens] Weekend $35,700, Average $430, Cume $2,852,594
The Lodge (Neon) – Week 3 [322 Screens] Weekend $625,000, Average $1,941, Cume $921,282
Parasite (Neon) – Week 20 [1,803 Screens] Weekend $3,121,000, Average $1,731, Cume $48,942,494
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Neon) – Week 3 [130 Screens] Weekend $715,000, Average $5,500, Cume $1,450,114
The Traitor (Sony Pictures Classics) – Week 4 [45 Screens] Weekend $52,875, Average $1,175, Cume $224,099
Uncut Gems (A24) – Week 11 [92 Theaters] Weekend $73,304, Average $797, Cume $49,942,100
Weathering With You (GKIDS) – Week 6 [15 Theaters] Weekend $22,607, Average $1,507, Cume $7,759,696