Arthouse Audit: 'Conviction' Gets Hung, 'Girl Who Kicked Hornet's Nest' Gets Stung
Conviction expanded in to an almost-nationwide 565 theaters and easily topped all limited releases over the weekend, despite posting modest grosses. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, which concluded the Swedish-language version of the Millennium trilogy, had a decent start, though it fell short of its predecessor.
Placing tenth among all releases, Conviction earned $1.83 million. That translated to an underwhelming $3,241 per-theater average, likely discouraging much more expansion. Million Dollar Baby, Hilary Swank's last movie to start small before gradually expanding, had a larger weekend at just 109 locations back in January 2005. Since opening Oct. 15, Conviction has grossed $2.38 million.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest scored $881,737 at 154 locations for a per-theater average of $5,726. This was off from The Girl Who Played with Fire's $904,998 debut, and that played at 46 fewer venues. At this point, it looks like Hornet's Nest will have a tough time matching Fire's $7.6 million, much less The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's $10.1 million.
After leading the arthouse scene last weekend, Waiting for "Superman" declined 34 percent to $515,283 at 330 locations. It had its lowest average yet, notching just $1,561 at each location. Through its sixth weekend, the documentary has earned $4.6 million.
Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger dipped 21 percent to $343,195 at 330 theaters, averaging $1,040 per site. This was the first weekend that the picture has lost theaters and seen a weekend-to-weekend drop, indicating that it has begun a slow fade from cinemas. Since opening in September, the comedy-drama has made $2.36 million.
N'Secure rounded out the limited Top Five by falling 47 percent to $292,829 at 367 venues. Overall, the urban drama has earned $2.4 million.
Besides Hornet's Nest, a handful of other movies opened in limited release over the weekend. Welcome to the Rileys, starring Kristen Stewart, James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo debuted to a disappointing $42,145 at ten locations. Based on the talent involved, it's likely to see some expansion, though it's unlikely to reach that many theaters. Bill Nighy-Emily Blunt comedy Wild Target also underperformed by grossing $23,174 at four theaters. Distributor Freestyle Releasing played up supposedly solid exit polling numbers, but its actual earnings were not encouraging.
French crime movie Inspector Bellamy opened to $20,635 at two venues, a solid start considering it wasn't exactly a hit in its native country. Low-budget sci-fi flick Monsters debuted just below Bellamy with $20,508 at three locations, which was low when taking in to account the level of attention this project has received over the past month or two. Finally, three documentaries each had one-theater launches: Waste Land found $9,806, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields conjured up $4,620 for a five-day total of $8,190, and The Kids Grow Up earned $4,497.
Last Arthouse Audit
• 'Superman' Leaps Past N-Secure'
Related Story
• Weekend Report: 'Saw' Sharpens with "Final Chapter," 'Paranormal Activity 2' Fades
Placing tenth among all releases, Conviction earned $1.83 million. That translated to an underwhelming $3,241 per-theater average, likely discouraging much more expansion. Million Dollar Baby, Hilary Swank's last movie to start small before gradually expanding, had a larger weekend at just 109 locations back in January 2005. Since opening Oct. 15, Conviction has grossed $2.38 million.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest scored $881,737 at 154 locations for a per-theater average of $5,726. This was off from The Girl Who Played with Fire's $904,998 debut, and that played at 46 fewer venues. At this point, it looks like Hornet's Nest will have a tough time matching Fire's $7.6 million, much less The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's $10.1 million.
After leading the arthouse scene last weekend, Waiting for "Superman" declined 34 percent to $515,283 at 330 locations. It had its lowest average yet, notching just $1,561 at each location. Through its sixth weekend, the documentary has earned $4.6 million.
Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger dipped 21 percent to $343,195 at 330 theaters, averaging $1,040 per site. This was the first weekend that the picture has lost theaters and seen a weekend-to-weekend drop, indicating that it has begun a slow fade from cinemas. Since opening in September, the comedy-drama has made $2.36 million.
N'Secure rounded out the limited Top Five by falling 47 percent to $292,829 at 367 venues. Overall, the urban drama has earned $2.4 million.
Besides Hornet's Nest, a handful of other movies opened in limited release over the weekend. Welcome to the Rileys, starring Kristen Stewart, James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo debuted to a disappointing $42,145 at ten locations. Based on the talent involved, it's likely to see some expansion, though it's unlikely to reach that many theaters. Bill Nighy-Emily Blunt comedy Wild Target also underperformed by grossing $23,174 at four theaters. Distributor Freestyle Releasing played up supposedly solid exit polling numbers, but its actual earnings were not encouraging.
French crime movie Inspector Bellamy opened to $20,635 at two venues, a solid start considering it wasn't exactly a hit in its native country. Low-budget sci-fi flick Monsters debuted just below Bellamy with $20,508 at three locations, which was low when taking in to account the level of attention this project has received over the past month or two. Finally, three documentaries each had one-theater launches: Waste Land found $9,806, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields conjured up $4,620 for a five-day total of $8,190, and The Kids Grow Up earned $4,497.
Last Arthouse Audit
• 'Superman' Leaps Past N-Secure'
Related Story
• Weekend Report: 'Saw' Sharpens with "Final Chapter," 'Paranormal Activity 2' Fades
