Per Theater Chart: Sicario Continues to Chase Down the Competition

September 29, 2015

Sicario

It is very rare for a limited release to repeat on top of the per theater chart, because if a film does well enough to lead the per theater chart, they tend to expand so much that repeating on top becomes nearly impossible. Sicario expanded from 6 to 59 theaters, but still managed first place with an average of $29,107. At this pace, it will expand semi-wide, at the very least. Lost in Hong Kong was next with an average of $19,916 in 27 theaters. It is already more than halfway to its first major milestone after just one weekend of release. I think more and more Chinese films will get limited releases here. 99 Homes was next with an average of $16,127 in two theaters. This is enough to suggest some potential to expand, especially if it can turn its reviews into Award Season Buzz. The overall box office champ, Hotel Transylvania 2, was next with an average of $12,910. The final film in the $10,000 club was Mississippi Grind with $12,434 in its lone theater. It looks like it will be another success for A24.

None of the rest of the new limited releases came close to the $10,000 club. Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead got only halfway there with $5,254 in one theater. That's not bad for a Video on Demand release. Unbranded earned about half that with and average of $2,724 in 58 theaters. The Keeping Room barely avoided the Mendoza Line with an average of $2,164 in two theaters. The rest of the films were not as lucky. Forever earned just $1,329 in one theater. Finders Keepers earned an average of $1,148 in five theaters. Even worse, Stonewall only managed an average of $875 in 129 theaters. This is even worse than its reviews are. Ashby was the weakest new release with an average of just $309 in 15.

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

  • Pawn Sacrifice earned more than $1 million over the weekend, so it obviously reached the $1 million milestone. However, its per theater average is well below $2,000, so it will lose a lot of theaters this weekend.
  • Meru topped $2 million before the weekend, but that's as far as it will go.
  • Sicario reached $2 million over the weekend. It will reach many, many more milestones, depending on how well it expands and if its Awards Season buzz should grow.
  • Grandma got to $5 million over the weekend. That's as far as it will go. On the one hand, this is a great run for a limited release. On the other hand, I was hoping for more due to its reviews.
Weekend Box Office Results

Filed under: Theater Averages, Pawn Sacrifice, Hotel Transylvania 2, The Keeping Room, 99 Homes, Mississippi Grind, Grandma, Sicario, Ashby, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead The Story of the National Lampoon, Forever, Stonewall, Meru, Unbranded, Gang jiong, Finders Keepers