Asteroid City caused a massive stir in the arthouse and specialty worlds this weekend as the Wes Anderson film presented by Focus Features blew past records with an estimated $790K three-day gross and $890K estimated for the four-day weekend in just six theaters.
That’s an average of $132,211 per theater for the three days and $148,901 for the four, repeating the biggest PTA of the year, and since Covid, and for several years. This helmer can activate the specialty chest like no other. His Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 it opened with $800K on four screens, for a PSA of $200K – it’s still considered the absolute leader.
Asteroid City Highlights, according to Focus:
-The best average per theater since December 2016 when la la land opened to $176,220 per theater
-Best theatrical average of all time for a film that played in six locations (the previous record was american pride at $123,509)
-Best theater average of all time for a feature film, beating Wes Anderson 2012 Realm of the Moon’s birth ($130,700 from 4 theaters)
-The best opening weekend of all time at the Angelika Theatre
-Best opening weekend of all time at the Sunset Theatre
Landmark reopened last place this weekend with a total Asteroid City takeover, including a full pop-up experience replicating the set and film playing on all five screens, part of a major marketing push by Focus, which will expand it to around 1,500 cinemas next weekend.
“We are incredibly excited by this weekend’s record-breaking results and the overwhelmingly positive response. Wes Anderson is a one-of-a-kind filmmaker with unparalleled creative vision, and it’s so gratifying to see grown-up moviegoers return to theaters to join in the fun of this film,” said Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features, President of Distribution.
“We’re off to an incredible start and look forward to sharing Asteroid City with even more audiences in the coming weeks,” said Bunnell, who calls Anderson “The Wonder of the Specialty World.”
Bunnell said the film is seeing a diverse crowd with many young people — meaning 18-34 year olds should bring back specialty theaters. The shows at 21 and 22 were lively.
It took a village, with partners Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse and Angelika all making big pushes and plenty of support from AMC, which has more showings next week as the film expands.
Weekend lineup: Friday – $350,000; Saturday – 250 thousand dollars; on Sunday – 190 thousand dollars; Monday – $100,000.
Other openings: There weren’t many, as distributors drifted between a slew of high-profile releases and what turned out to be a Wes Anderson rip-off. Telugu movie Adipurushfrom Viva Entertainment, was the one that grossed around $1.6 million on 550 screens, placing it in the top ten for the weekend.
Noting the continued success of A24 Past lives, which expanded to 85 screens in key markets this weekend (third week) and crossed $2 million. Celine Song’s debut film earned an estimated $761,000 for the three-day weekend and $923,000 for the four days for a cumulative total of $2.06 million. with Asteroid Cityit’s a good boost for the indie market.
