It was Win Win Win Win on the Per Theater Chart

March 22, 2011

There were a quartet of strong performers on the per theater chart this past weekend with Bill Cunningham New York coming out on top with $33,677 in its lone theater. However, while Win Win came in second, it was close behind with $30,072 while it was playing in five theaters, instead of just one, so you could argue it had the better start. Jane Eyre remained potent with an average of $17,939, while its theater count grew from 4 to 26. It will start hitting major milestones very soon. Nostalgia for the Light was the final $10,000 film with $10,681 in one theater.

None of the rest of the new limited releases managed to come halfway to the $10,000 mark. Winter in Wartime came the closest with an average of $4,679 in three theaters. Desert Flower's subject matter might have been too much, as it opened with an average of $2,552 in three theaters. The Music Never Stopped struggled with an average of just $2,392, but it was playing in more than 30 theaters, which is a mitigating factor. Cracks missed the Mendoza Line with less than $10,000 in six theaters for an average of $1,578. The Butcher, The Chef, and The Swordsman was even further back with an average of just $633, but it was the widest limited release of the week.

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

• The Illusionist made it too $2 million, barely. I was hoping it would do as well as The Triplets of Belleville, so this is a little disappointing.
• The Grace Card also reached $2 million, but that's as far as it will go. Incidentally, the film's legs were weak compared to the average wide release and were terrible for a limited release.
• Cedar Rapids became the first limited release of 2011 to hit $5 million. Getting to $10 million is very likely out of the question; however, this is a result worth celebrating, especially given the weakness in the wide releases.
• The King's Speech topped $130 million at the box office, surpassing The Last Airbender's final box office number in the process. It might make it to $140 million, but that's not guaranteed at this point.

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Theater Averages, Cedar Rapids, Cracks, Desert Flower, Win Win, Winter in Wartime, The King’s Speech, Jane Eyre, The Grace Card, Dao Jian Xiao, The Music Never Stopped, Bill Cunningham New York, Nostalgia de la luz