UPDATED at 12:30PM PT with more numbers and analysis. Wes Anderson’s stop-motion-animated Isle Of Dogs opened via Fox Searchlight in 27 theaters, grossing $1.57M and averaging $58,148, tops for any 2018 opener to date despite being the widest-ever Anderson opener.
The film, which had its world premiere last month in Berlin, has caused ripples of controversy in some quarters for its depiction of Japanese culture, though critics have largely sparked to it. The film will jump to more than 150 locations next week.
Other specialty openers this weekend put up mixed results. Sony Classics’ Final Portrait by Stanley Tucci grossed $28,214 in three theaters, while Magnolia opened Ismael’s Ghosts, the Cannes entry starring Marion Cotillard and Charlotte Gainsbourg, with two runs, grossing $19K.
Abramorama premiered documentary Summer In the Forest in a single exclusive run, grossing $8,660, while The Last Suit from Outsider Pictures dressed up six theaters, grossing $28,127. And Music Box Films opened Back To Burgundy in four theaters grossing just over $12K.
Focus Features’ 7 Days in Entebbe expanded to more than 800 runs in Week Two, but slowed to $655K. The Orchard’s Flower widened to 57 theaters in its second frame, grossing $125,767. IFC Films’ The Death Of Stalin remains a specialty star, grossing more than a million dollars in 141 locations in its third outing.
Isle Of Dogs landed where distributor Fox Searchlight had expected it to, acknowledging the take wasn’t a headlining $202K opening average of the filmmaker’s last feature, The Grand Budapest Hotel (though of course that was in only four location when it opened back in 2014).
Searchlight said its opening weekend audience was 60% under 30 and had a “more diverse” audience compared to Grand Budapest. After reaching between 150 and 175 locations next weekend for Easter/Passover weekend, Isle Of Dogs will head to to 400 runs April 6 and then break wide nationally on April 13.
Among the other debuts, romantic thriller Ismael’s Ghosts from director Arnaud Desplechin will add L.A., D.C. and San Francisco on April 6. Bio-drama Final Portrait by writer-director Stanley Tucci and starring Armie Hammer and Geoffrey Rush will also add runs in a slow roll-out.
Music Box opened French wine family comedy-drama Back To Burgundy in four locations, taking in $12K (a $3,015 average). The company said the top locale was the single-screen Vogue theater adjacent to the California wine country in San Francisco. The company said its gross “nearly doubled” at the Angelika in New York from Friday to Sunday.
The Orchard planted Flower in 57 theaters over the weekend, a week after the teen comedy starring Zoey Deutch had led all openers with a per-screen average of $19,284 in three locations.
Focus shed 50 runs for 7 Days in Entebbe in its second frame, grossing $655K in 836 theaters ($786 average). The title opened last weekend in 838 theaters, taking in $1.63M, averaging $1,945. It has cumed $2,919,000.
IFC Films said Sunday its comedy The Death of Stalin continued to sell out shows in multiple markets. It is certainly holding well now in its third frame, grossing $1,060,186 in 141 theaters for a robust $7,519 PTA. Last weekend the film starring Steve Buscemi grossed $580,576 in 32 locations, averaging $18,143. Its three week cume brought it to $2.09M.
SPC’s The Leisure Seeker more than doubled its playdates to 117. Starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland, the feature grossed $315,427, averaging $2,696. Last weekend, its gross was $149K in 49 locations, averaging a bit more than $3K. The company also expanded Foxtrot in its fourth frame, grossing $76,529 ($2,943 average) bringing its total to $270,056.
Among the Oscar holdovers, Best Picture winner The Shape of Water grossed $250K in 236 theaters ($1,059 average) bringing its cume to $63.27M. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri grossed $110K ($880 average in 125 theaters) taking its cume to $54.13M. Lady Bird, in its 21st weekend in theaters, is just shy of $49M overall after a weekend gross of $30,200 in 46 locations, good for a $657 average.