Independents look solid this weekend with Vertical’s Widow Clicquot nice alternative programming amid summer blockbuster season, IFC Film horror Oddity off to a fine start, and Thelma, one of the year’s biggest specialty hits, passing $8 million. New films and holdovers in limited release did business.
Thomas Napper’s Widow Clicquot is looking at an estimated 3-day box-office gross of $190k on about 100 screens. Haley Bennett stars as Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot in the true story of a 20-year-old woman who flouts convention by — after her husband dies — taking the reins of their wine business. Clicquot (1777–1866) defied her critics and ultimately revolutionized the champagne industry one of the world’s early, great businesswomen. (‘Veuve’ is French for widow.)
The R-rated drama, screenplay by Erin Dignam, is 88% with critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, a good sign for an extended run. Top five opening markets include LA, NY, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Boston.
Vertical is quite active but often. although not always, does very limited day-and-date releases so this is nice number for them. Partner Peter Jarowey gave “a big thanks to our partners in Exhibition, large and small, for their support of Widow Clicquot, allowing moviegoers to enjoy Widow as a big screen experience.”
Irish R-rated horror Oddity by Damian McCarthy is scaring up an estimated gross of $555.5k at 790 locations. One of the best reviewed horror films of the year, it’s at 97% with RT critics, 90% with audiences. IFC/Shudder, whose Late Night With The Devil hit a jackpot earlier this, has four of ten top-rated horror films of 2024 and Oddity will put it at no. 5. (Late Night has been no. 1 rated since it opened in March.)
Also this weekend, another Indian film broke through in moderate release. Anand Tiwari’s comedy love triangle Bad Newz from Moviegoers grossed $1.07 million on 477 screens, hitting no. 8 at the domestic box office.
Limited releases: Crumb Catcher from Doppelganger Releasing, the relaunched genre label of Music Box Films. The debut feature from Chris Skotchdopole, with indie horror icon Larry Fessenden a producer, grossed $20.9k at 55 theaters.
Mubi’s Crossing finished its opening weekend with an estimated $16.2k on 2 screens in New York and LA Levan Akin’s acclaimed follow-up to And Then We Danced expands this Friday and throughout August
Great Absence, a GAGA Corporation release in association with Picturehouse, saw $9.4k on 1 screen. Director Kei Chika-Ura and star Tatsuya Fuji appeared at Q&As for the film and attended the premiere at the Japan Society’s Japan Cuts series in New York City. Expands to LA Friday.
Holdovers: June Squibb-starring Thelma crossed $8 million this weekend, said distributor Magnolia Pictures about its widest release ever. The 93-year-old star plays a feisty grandma with Parker Posey her uptight daughter and Fred Hechinger a slacker grandson attracting an intergenerational audience to the Josh Margolin film. Now in week 5, it grossed $230k on 305 screens for a cume of $8.18 million.
A24’s Sing Sing continued to win over audiences on with $64k on four screens in New York and LA including sold-out Q&A’s throughout the weekend for Greg Kwedar’s film starring Colman Domingo. Starts a nationwide expansion in August. Cume is $234k.
Kill from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions has an estimated 3-day gross of $35k on 45 screens for a cume of $1.16 million in week 3 for the extremely well reviewed and violent Hindi film.
Touch from Focus Features saw $275k from 326 theaters in week 2 for an estimated cume to date of $915k.