Per Theater Chart: Ultron is Still Big

May 12, 2015

The Avengers: Age of Ultron remained in first place on the per theater chart with an average of $18,182. It wasn't the only film in the $10,000 chart this week. Pather Panchali was close behind with $16,333 in its lone theater. I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story earned $10,150 over the weekend for a total of $13,053 from Wednesday through Sunday.

There were a few other new limited releases that did quite well. Saint Laurent earned an average of $9,034 in four theaters. A Bollywood film, Piku, was the largest limited release of the week earning nearly $1 million in 117 theaters for an average of $8,025. The Seven Five was close behind with an average of $7,393 in two theaters. 5 Flights Up was well back with an average of just $2,741 in 87 theaters. That's not good, but at least it didn't miss the Mendoza Line. Maggie wasn't as lucky earning an average of just $1,660 in just 79 theaters. On the other hand, I'm starting to think I might have to retire the Mendoza Line as a term, as it might be meaningless for films that open on Video on Demand. VoD has overtaken limited release in terms of importance for a film's profitability. Noble was playing in far too many theaters to thrive in limited release, 175, and only managed an average of $1,322. The D-Train opened semi-wide in 1,009 theaters, but it only managed an average of $444. At the bottom of the list was Skin Trade, which opened with $162 in one theater.

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

• Clouds of Sils Maria got to $1 million very early in the weekend. Unfortunately, it has also peaked at the box office, so $2 million could be out of reach.
• Far from the Madding Crowd expanded to nearly 100 theaters and while it fell out of the $10,000 club, it held on well enough to reach $1 million and it should continue to expand.
• The Water Diviner held on better than expected easily topping $3 million over the weekend. This makes $4 million and $5 million more likely.
• Ex Machina continues to impress hitting $15 million over the weekend. This puts it ahead of a fellow limited release, It Follows, and just behind a wide release, Seventh Son.
• Woman in Gold expanded its lead as the biggest limited release hit of 2015 getting all the way to $25 million. By the end of the weekend, the film had topped Run All Night, a film that had opened in more than 3,000 theaters.

Filed under: Theater Averages, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Run All Night, Far from the Madding Crowd, Saint Laurent, It Follows, 5 Flights Up, Ex Machina, Maggie, Clouds of Sils Maria, Skin Trade, The D Train, Woman in Gold, The Water Diviner, Noble, The Seven Five, I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story, Piku, Pather Panchali