Here’s to a solid indie weekend with BTS’s Jung Kook: I Am Still, Mubi’s The Substance, Whiplash is back and My Old Ass in limited release. Am I Racist? by conservative podcaster Justin Folk also continued strong in week two.
Mubi’s release of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance opened to $3.1 million on 1,949 screens for the no. 6 spot at the domestic box office. Critics and audiences were united on the film, which won Best Screenplay at Cannes as well as the TIFF Midnight Madness audience award, and scores a 89% Certified Fresh critics ranking. Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a former A-lister past her prime and drawn to the opportunity presented by a mysterious new drug.
The film played strongest across the top 15 markets major markets, with NY, LA, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Boston particularly over-indexing. It’s part of a worldwide release from Mubi.
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Jung Kook: I Am Still, the documentary on Jung Kook of K-pop legend BTS, opened on Wednesday from Trafalgar Releasing with limited showtimes between 9/18 and 9/22 for an estimated Friday and Sunday North America gross of $1.42 million and the no. 9 spot of the weekend..
The cume from Wednesday was $2.57 million. Screen count ranged from 722-769 for the documentary including concert performances, behind-the-scenes footage, and exclusive interviews of Jung Kook’s rise to fame and growth as a solo artist. Also played 114 international territories with a Wed.-Sun. cume of $5.6 million. Will screen again next weekend in most territories from 9/27-9/29.
Sony Pictures Classics re-release of Whiplash on the 10th anniversary of the iconic Damien Chazelle film grossed $578.4k on 695 screens in week 1.
New limited releases: A24’s A Different Man by Aaron Schimberg, starring Sebastian Stan, Adam Pearson and Renate Reinsve launched with $56.1k on four screens with sold out Q&As in NY over the weekend. Limited expansion next week.
Sundance U.S. Dramatic Grand Prize-winner In The Summers from Music Box Films is looking at about $11k on two screens, NYC’s IFC Center and Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles. Expands to Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Santa Fe and other markets next week.
Holdovers: Documentary Am I Racist grossed another $2.54 million at 1,600 locations in week 2 for an impressive cume of $9 million and a no. 7 stop at the domestic box office.
My Old Ass from Amazon MGM Studios saw $282k at 33 locations (up by 26) across 26 markets in week 2. With a cume of $512k, the film by Megan Park is positioned well after its second weekend of limited release continuing with strong reviews and positive exit sentiment. Expands to roughly 1,200 theaters next weekend.