Theater Averages: Most New Releases were Left Out in the Cold

February 6, 2019

Never Look Away

Never Look Away held up well earning $19,033 in its lone theater. Its Oscar Nod is helping, but its real test is when the film tries to expand. The only new release in the $10,000 club was Arctic, with an average of $12,720 in four theaters.

None of the rest of the new limited releases really came close to the $10,000 mark. Police Story / Police Story 2 came the closest with an average of $5,118 in five theaters. Meanwhile The Wild Pear Tree was right behind with $4,923 in one theater over the weekend for a five-day opening of $5,905. Ek Ladki Ko Dekhah Toh Aisa Laga did well, considering it was playing in nearly 200 theaters, earning an average of $3,139. On the other hand, Daughter of Mine struggled with an average of $2,724 in two theaters. Piercing missed the Mendoza line with an average of $486 in 18 theaters, but it is playing on VOD, so its box office doesn’t matter.

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

  • Destroyer hit $1 million very early in the weekend; however, its theater average is low enough that it could start losing theaters too rapidly to get to $2 million before it is done.
  • Cold War got to $2 million early in the weekend and it should get to $3 million with relative ease.
  • Uri: The Surgical Strike has had amazing legs for a Bollywood film and that helped it reach $3 million early in the weekend. I’m not sure how much longer it can keep this up, on the other hand.
  • Stan and Ollie didn’t lose any theaters this past weekend, in fact, it gained some and that helped it hit $3 million over the weekend. That said, its theater average is barely above $1,000, so it will certainly start losing theaters from now on.
  • They Shall Not Grow Old got all the way to $10 million, including its record-breaking special engagements. This is fantastic for a documentary and I could see other filmmakers using this technology for similar films.
  • Dragon Ball Super: Broly managed to get to $30 million, all while never playing in more than 1,250 theaters at once.
  • Green Book hit $50 million before the weekend and $55 million by the end.
Weekend Box Office Results

Filed under: Theater Averages, Destroyer, Green Book, Arctic, Ahlat Agaci, Zimna wojna, Figlia mia, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Stan & Ollie, They Shall Not Grow Old, Werk ohne Autor, Piercing, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Ek Ladki Ko Dekhah Toh Aisa Laga, Ging chaat goo si/Ging chaat goo si juk jaap