Arthouse Audit: '127 Hours' Has Harrowing Debut
While it didn't lead limited releases over the weekend, 127 Hours overcame its minor amputation-related controversy with one of the best limited openings of the year. Political thriller Fair Game and Bollywood comedy Golmaal 3 had decent debuts, while The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest topped limited releases due to Conviction's nationwide expansion.
127 Hours earned $264,851 at four locations, averaging $66,213 per site. That's the second-biggest average of the year behind The Kids Are All Right, which opened to $491,971 at seven locations in July. 127 Hours got off to a slightly better start than the similarly-themed Into the Wild, which also played at four locations in its debut, grossing $212,440 on its way to a $18.4 million final total. It's also worth noting that 127 Hours had a higher average than director Danny Boyle's last movie, Slumdog Millionaire, though Slumdog's debut was more diluted from opening at ten locations.
Fair Game grossed $651,082 at 46 theaters for a solid $14,154 average. Its somewhat odd initial location count meant that there were few direct comparisons. Among spy movies, its release pattern most closely resembled Enigma, which mustered $156,587 at 25 locations on its way to a $4.3 million total. Distributor Summit Entertainment plans to expand the Naomi Watts-Sean Penn thriller over the next two weekends.
Golmaal 3 scored $626,432 at 86 venues for a decent per-theater average of $7,284. This was a good opening by Bollywood standards, though it was way off from a handful of other releases this year.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest added 38 locations for a total of 192 and eased 15 percent to $746,572. That was a bigger second weekend haul than predecessor The Girl Who Played with Fire, but the latter played at fewer theaters. Hornet's Nest has earned just shy of $2 million in ten days, nearly tying Played with Fire through the same point.
Waiting for "Superman" dipped 23 percent to $325,237 at 242 locations. Because it dropped 88 locations, its $1,633 per-theater average was a slight improvement from last weekend. Since opening in September, the Davis Guggenheim documentary has earned $5.4 million.
While "Superman" began to fade away, documentary Inside Job rounded out the limited Top Five by doubling its theater count to 66 and increasing 45 percent to $266,415. Through its fifth weekend, the attempted indictment of the U.S. financial system has earned $957,883.
A handful of other new movies opened over the weekend, though none were nearly as impressive as 127 Hours or Fair Game. Much-hyped satire Four Lions earned a decent $41,512 at eight locations, while political documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer grossed a meager $16,962 at three venues. Crime thriller Red Hill, which stars True Blood's Ryan Kwanten, was the weekend's big loser as it opened to just $8,650 at five venues. Finally, comedy Violet Tendencies and musical drama Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench played at one theater each and earned $5,264 and $3,233, respectively.
Last Arthouse Audit
• 'Conviction' Gets Hung, 'Girl Who Kicked Hornet's Nest' Gets Stung
Related Story
• Weekend Report: 'Megamind' Devises Brawny Start, 'Due Date' Pays Off
127 Hours earned $264,851 at four locations, averaging $66,213 per site. That's the second-biggest average of the year behind The Kids Are All Right, which opened to $491,971 at seven locations in July. 127 Hours got off to a slightly better start than the similarly-themed Into the Wild, which also played at four locations in its debut, grossing $212,440 on its way to a $18.4 million final total. It's also worth noting that 127 Hours had a higher average than director Danny Boyle's last movie, Slumdog Millionaire, though Slumdog's debut was more diluted from opening at ten locations.
Fair Game grossed $651,082 at 46 theaters for a solid $14,154 average. Its somewhat odd initial location count meant that there were few direct comparisons. Among spy movies, its release pattern most closely resembled Enigma, which mustered $156,587 at 25 locations on its way to a $4.3 million total. Distributor Summit Entertainment plans to expand the Naomi Watts-Sean Penn thriller over the next two weekends.
Golmaal 3 scored $626,432 at 86 venues for a decent per-theater average of $7,284. This was a good opening by Bollywood standards, though it was way off from a handful of other releases this year.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest added 38 locations for a total of 192 and eased 15 percent to $746,572. That was a bigger second weekend haul than predecessor The Girl Who Played with Fire, but the latter played at fewer theaters. Hornet's Nest has earned just shy of $2 million in ten days, nearly tying Played with Fire through the same point.
Waiting for "Superman" dipped 23 percent to $325,237 at 242 locations. Because it dropped 88 locations, its $1,633 per-theater average was a slight improvement from last weekend. Since opening in September, the Davis Guggenheim documentary has earned $5.4 million.
While "Superman" began to fade away, documentary Inside Job rounded out the limited Top Five by doubling its theater count to 66 and increasing 45 percent to $266,415. Through its fifth weekend, the attempted indictment of the U.S. financial system has earned $957,883.
A handful of other new movies opened over the weekend, though none were nearly as impressive as 127 Hours or Fair Game. Much-hyped satire Four Lions earned a decent $41,512 at eight locations, while political documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer grossed a meager $16,962 at three venues. Crime thriller Red Hill, which stars True Blood's Ryan Kwanten, was the weekend's big loser as it opened to just $8,650 at five venues. Finally, comedy Violet Tendencies and musical drama Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench played at one theater each and earned $5,264 and $3,233, respectively.
Last Arthouse Audit
• 'Conviction' Gets Hung, 'Girl Who Kicked Hornet's Nest' Gets Stung
Related Story
• Weekend Report: 'Megamind' Devises Brawny Start, 'Due Date' Pays Off
