Summer might be ending, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of activity on the per theater chart. Placing first was Adam with an average of $17,094 in four theaters. This suggests at least some potential to expand. The same can be said of The Cove and its average of $14,410; however, as a documentary, there is a lower upper limit to its box office potential. Thirst was right behind with an average of $13,972, which is better than Let the Right On In opened with. Finally, (500) Days of Summer remained in the $10,000 club for one more week with an average of $10,439 in 266 theaters.

There were quite a few new releases that also did well at the box office, starting with Gotta Dance with $8,576 in one theater. Flame & Citron was also strong with $7,627 while You, The Living was close behind with $6,924. Both Lorna's Silence at $5,735 and If I Die Tonight at $4,823 did well during their respective openings. Not Quite Hollywood was not quite a hit opening with just $4700 in two theaters for an average of $2,347. On the other hand, it was miles ahead of Ghosted, which opened with $980 in one theater, and Act of God, which opened with $522, also in one theater.

This past week also saw milestones reached for a few Per Theater Charts alumni:

• Departures finally reached $1 million, more than two months into its run. Normally this would be good for a foreign language film. However, it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, so expectations were higher.
• Food, Inc. hit $3 million over the weekend and $4 million should not be out of reach.
• The Hurt Locker stormed past $5 million with its best weekend numbers of its run so far. While it has likely peaked at the weekend box office, it should have no trouble getting to $10 million in total.
• On the other hand, I'm not sure (500) Days of Summer has peaked. Since this time last week it topped $4 million and reached $5 million over the weekend, while by this time next week there's a slip chance it will be at $10 million. It is the sleeper Indie hit of the summer and will start surpassing the totals of several wide releases soon.

Date posted: 2009-08-04