Melancholia has a Finite Result on Per Theater Chart

November 16, 2011

Melancholia led the way on the per theater chart with an average of $13,535 in 19 theaters. It was playing in more theaters than most limited releases debut in, but for a film with Oscar aspirations, this was a weaker result that I would have liked. It also might hurt the film's Oscar chances; after all, people can't vote for films they haven't seen. The overall box office leader, Immortals, placed second with an average of $10,349, which is about $3,000 more than I was expecting.

There were a wide range of other new limited releases, some of which came close to the $10,000 mark, while others barely avoided the Mendoza Line. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within opened with $8,648 in its lone theater, and with reviews that are still perfect, it should expand. The biggest limited release of the week was Rockstar, which opened in more than 100 theaters. Its average was $5,466, which is very healthy for this type of release and hopefully enough to get it to $1 million in total. Into the Abyss was a little weaker than I would have liked with an average of $3,963, but it was also opening in more theaters than most limited releases open in, at 12. London Boulevard opened with $3,431 in its one theater. The Conquest was unable to find an audience with an average of just $2,712 in six theaters. About Fifty was right behind with $2,500 in one theater. 11-11-11 just avoided opening below the Mendoza line with an average of $2,117 in 18 theaters. It will likely do better on the home market.

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

  • Like Crazy just made it to $1 million over the weekend; however, it has been expanding very rapidly while still maintaining a strong per theater average, so it could get to $2 million by this time next week.
  • As expected, Margin Call topped $3 million over the weekend and should have little trouble getting to $4 million.
  • Anonymous reached $3 million before the weekend. It should have no trouble hitting $4 million, but its per theater average is low, so quick declines are very likely.

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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Theater Averages, Immortals, Anonymous, Like Crazy, London Boulevard, Margin Call, Melancholia, 11-11-11, La conquête, Tropa de Elite 2: O Inimigo Agora É Outro, Into the Abyss, About Fifty, Rockstar