Per Theater Chart: Hip to be Square(Pants)

February 11, 2015

Just like it did on the overall box office chart, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $15,206. This is surprisingly high compared to weekend predictions. There were two other films in the $10,000 club. Ballet 422 earned an average of $13,827 in two theaters and Old Fashioned was right behind with $12,988 in three.

The rest of the new limited releases all missed the Mendoza Line. Shamitabh came the closest with an average of $1,764 in over 100 theaters. The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the End of Apartheid earned $1,153 in its lone theater. Love, Rosie opened with an average of $993 in 15 theaters. One Small Hitch only managed an average of $533 in ten theaters. 3 Nights in the Desert only managed $42 in its one theater. That's not the record low, but it is close.

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

• 2015 Oscar Shorts reached $1 million after just ten days of release. This is faster than the previous installments managed. It should have no trouble getting to $2 million and $3 million isn't out of the question.
• Still Alice topped $2 million over the weekend. Its per theater average is still strong enough that it should expand significantly, but it won't expand truly wide.
• A Most Violent Year crossed $3 million before the weekend and $4 million over the weekend. It will get to $5 million shortly, but that's as far as it will go.
• Birdman got all the way to $35 million over the weekend and it should last long enough to hit $40 million. It might even go further, if it continues to win awards.
• Selma reached $45 million over the weekend. This is more than Blended in total and that film opened in more than 3,500 theaters.
• The Imitation Game's theater count is falling, bit it still topped $70 million over the weekend and it is now ahead of Hercules' final box office.

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Theater Averages, Selma, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, The Imitation Game, Ballet 422, A Most Violent Year, Still Alice, Love, Rosie, Old Fashioned, 3 Nights in the Desert, One Small Hitch, Shamitabh, 2015 Oscar Shorts, The Other Man: F.W. de Klerk and the End of Apartheid, Academy Award Short Film Nominations