As part of a new recurring feature, IndieWire will each week exclusively share a box office chart via Rentrak looking at the top 10 releases in specialized release, presented in full with added commentary.
In a week when everyone is talking about “Obsession” coming out of TIFF and lighting up the box office, another TIFF movie from last year also opened this weekend and did some solid business in the specialized realm. That movie was “Carolina Caroline,” which Magnolia picked up and this weekend released on 246 screens.
The film, which is a lovers on the run crime thriller starring Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner and is directed by Adam Rehmeier, made $110,110 for an average of $448 per location, good enough for the top spot on IndieWire’s specialized chart. Magnolia’s big release of the year was the Bob Odenkirk action film “Normal,” which has made above $5 million domestic, but it also had limited releases for “The Napa Boys” and “Heel” on far fewer screens.
Some of the other limited openings this week included the animated “The Last Whale Singer” from Viva Films, “She’s the He,” a trans teen comedy from Obscured Releasing, “Jack Johnson: Surfilmusic,” a music doc that premiered at SXSW this year, and “Jinsei,” a Japanese animated drama from director Ryuya Suzuki. “Jinsei” only opened on a single screen and had an excellent $8,274 haul.
Last week’s #1 on our chart, “Tuner” from Black Bear, added just enough screens to no longer be eligible for inclusion on this list, but it made another $652K to now have a cumulative total of $3.1 million. And the film we featured last week, Sara Dosa’s documentary “Time and Water,” now expanded from one screen to 7, and it now has a cumulative total of $20,511.
IndieWire’s criteria for inclusion on the Specialized Chart looks at independent and mini-major distributors with films that at their widest release at any point are below 500 screens, excluding event cinema, re-releases, and major Bollywood or Chinese North American releases.
Top 10 Specialized Releases 6/5-6/7 (all figures are domestic results courtesy of Rentrak) (new openings are italicized)
- “Carolina Caroline” – $110,110
- Distributor: Magnolia
- Avg/Location: $448
- Cumulative: $110,110
- “The Last Whale Singer” – $93,163
- Distributor: Viva Films
- Avg/Location: $266
- Cumulative: $93,163
- “Steal this Story, Please!” – $25,554
- Distributor: Xceptional Communications
- Avg/Location: $1,030
- Cumulative: $531,614
- “Silent Friend” – $12,830
- Distributor: 1-2 Special
- Avg/Location: $442
- Cumulative: $339,966
- “Time and Water” – $10,868
- Distributor: 1-2 Special
- Avg/Location: $1,553
- Cumulative: $20,511
- “Blue Heron” – $9,292
- Distributor: Janus Films
- Avg/Location: $489
- Cumulative: $564,604
- “She’s the He” – $8,927
- Distributor: Obscured Releasing
- Avg/Location: 4,464
- Cumulative: 8,927
- “Jack Johnson: Surfilmusic” – $8,560
- Distributor: Mercury Studios
- Avg/Location: $1,427
- Cumulative: $8,560
- “Jinsei” – $8,274
- Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
- Avg/Location: $8,274
- Cumulative: $8,274
- “The Currents” – $8,196
- Distributor: Kino Lorber
- Avg/Location: $820
- Cumulative: $22,867
