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With no new bust-out limited releases, repertory continues to do its part for the specialty box office, the latest a 4k restoration of Nostalghia. Kino Lorber said the Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1983 film, which opened Wednesday, will gross an estimated $22.87k at Film Forum in NYC for the five days.
It’s currently the top performer at the theater and will take in more than all other films screening there combined over that period. Two additional shows at the Roxie in San Francisco and the Austin Film Society bring combined grosses to about $29.4k. Expands next week to Philadelphia and Montreal with additional markets coming later. The film about a Russian poet and his interpreter, who travel to Italy researching the life of an 18th-century composer, stars Oleg Yankovskiy, Andrei Gorchakov, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano and Patrizia Terreno.
Kino Lorber had success with the restored 4k re-release of Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1980 The Conformist in 2023 ($108k), and Nancy Savoca’s 1993 Household Saints (with Milestone Films) in January ($24.5k). It’s not a new thing, re-releases (often but not always re-mastered) have been big, sometimes very big, from A24’s Stop Making Sense to Neon’s Old Boy to steady output from Metrograph Pictures but have become more important post Covid and post strikes. Upcoming Kino Lorber re-releases include 1998 film Slam at the Roxy, and One Hand Don’t Clap at BAM.
New specialty openings: IFC Films’ horror Stopmotion by Robert Morgan, starring Aisling Franciosi, is looking at an estimated three-day opening gross of $330k on 384 screens (for a per-screen average of $860). IFC’s The Taste Of Things is grossing $325k in week two on 357 screens for a cume of $1.8 million.
In limited release: Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano from Cohen Media Group is grossing about $64.2k from 21 theaters, with sold out Q&As in LA. Italy’s Oscar Best International Feature-nominated film about the odyssey of two Sengalese teenagers attempting to reach Italy expands to top 25 markets next week.
Shout! Studios comedy Drugstore June grossed $18.7k opening at two theaters in Los Angeles and New York for a PSA of $9.3k The film also sold out LA screenings with filmmaker Nicholaus Goossen and cast Esther Povitsky, Bobby Lee, Haley Joel Osment, Miranda Cosgrove and Trevor Wallace — opening Q&As remaining key to driving indie opening ticket sales.
Povitsky stars with a large ensemble cast as the titular June, a wannabe influencer juggling multiple issues. “We are thrilled to present this original, very funny film. The enthusiastic response from audiences has been really exciting,” said Julie Dansker, SVP of content strategy for Shout! Studios, which is positioning Drugstore June as a film with “all the makings of a cult classic comedy.” Expands March 1.
Sideshow/Janus Films’ About Dry Grasses by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s (Once Upon A Time In Anatolia, Winter Sleep) opened on three screens in NYC and LA this weekend, grossing an estimated $14.4k ($4.8k PSA) with limited showtimes available for the film, which has a 197-minute run time. Premiered at Cannes where star Merve Dizdar took Best Actress. Expands to Chicago next weekend and will roll out to 40+ markets throughout March.
Sony Pictures Classics’ animated They Shot The Piano Player by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal grossed $8.1k on two screens. Jeff Goldblum narrates the story of a New York music journalist on a quest to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of young Brazilian piano virtuoso Tenorio Jr. A celebratory origin story of the world-renowned Latino musical movement Bossa Nova at a turning point in Latin American history in the 60s and 70s, just before the continent was engulfed by totalitarian regimes. Premiered at Telluride, Toronto.
Music Box Films’ Swiss dramedy Golden Years grossed $6.7k on four screens for a PSA of $1.7. Directed by Barbara Kulcsar (The Two of Us, Blush), its stars Esther Gemsh and Stefan Kurt as a couple attempting to celebrate their retirement and a new phase in their lives with a cruise. Written by Petra Volpe.
Oscar nominated: Poor Things from Searchlight Pictures motors on, grossing $600k on 540 screens for a cume of $32.9 million in week 12. (Internationally, the Yorgos Lanthimos film starring Emma Stone is on the cusp of crossing $100 million.) “This extraordinary moment is a testament to the brilliant vision of Yorgos, Emma and the entire Poor Things family. And what a feat for the whole Searchlight team,” said Searchlight presidents Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum in a deserved box office victory lap.
A24’s The Zone Of Interest by Jonathan Glazer is seeing an estimated $296k on 371 screens for a cume of $7.436 million for the searing Holocaust film.
Kino Lorber documentary Four Daughters by Kaouther Ben Hania grossed $5.16k on ten screens in week 16 for a cume of $106k — passing $100k, it’s the top box office performer among nominees in a tough period for docs.
