Specialty B.O.: ‘Magic In The Moonlight,’ ‘A Most Wanted Man’ Find A Little Magic In Debuts

Bold debuts from two of the weekend’s openers in a crowded specialty box office included yet another Woody Allen film as well as a last starring turn from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight was another solid opener in a string of recent successes for the veteran writer-director, with a good per-screen average. That said, the numbers were less stratospheric than some of his recent summer films when comparing on a straight theater average, though this go-around did bow in substantially more locations.

Magic is Allen’s third consecutive summer release (and seventh if you count the ”shoulder” seasons).  The formula continues to be a lucrative one for Allen and his backers. In its opening weekend, Magic brought in nearly $426K in 17 theaters, for a solid $25K PTA. The film, starring Colin Firth and Emma Stone, bowed with 11 more runs than last year’s box-office and award-winning behemoth Blue Jasmine (the best performer of Allen’s very long career), which debuted to a $102K PTA in 6 theaters. That film also had a $612K opening weekend and went on to cume over $33.4M.

“Blue Jasmine had cross-over appeal and [Magic] is ideally suited for it as well,” Sony Classics co-president Michael Barker said earlier this week. “[Allen] has found new and younger audiences, which started with Midnight In Paris. The totals for these [recent] films are evident of this. You can’t consistently get these numbers if it were just loyalists coming to see his films. He’s attracting a new crowd while continuing to appeal to his longtime fans.”

Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions opened Anton Corbijn‘s cerebral thriller A Most Wanted Man over the weekend after a glittering mid-week premiere at the Museum Of Modern Art (MoMA) courtesy of the Cinema Society and its usual well-heeled crowd. The film, based on a John Le Carre‘ post-Cold War espionage thriller, grossed $2,717,425, averaging $7,527 in 361 theaters. The distributors noted it is the second-highest number in its history in absolute terms, following The Conspirator‘s $3.5M launch in 2011. Also notably, Most Wanted peeked into the top 10 this weekend.

“With a 91{e44777159f4460b4149aae83a2b5a6bf29fb2a90e7eca4046095a1ce55bcfa3b} ‘fresh rating’ on Rotten Tomatoes, the film had fantastic reviews, and was the story of the weekend at the specialty box office,” Roadside said.  ”[The feature] opened 20{e44777159f4460b4149aae83a2b5a6bf29fb2a90e7eca4046095a1ce55bcfa3b} higher than the Roadside/Lionsgate 2013 release Mud, which [opened] on the same number of screens ( to $2.2M) and went on to a $21M total North American box office. A Most Wanted Man went up a very strong 59{e44777159f4460b4149aae83a2b5a6bf29fb2a90e7eca4046095a1ce55bcfa3b} from Friday to Saturday.”

Open Road opened comedy concert pic The Fluffy Movie in 432 theaters, one of the largest launches of the summer among titles in the Specialty realm. It grossed over $1.3 million for a $3,042 PTA. “From a distributor point of view, what I think is interesting about this [movie] is that you can shoot in March and release it in July.” Open Road’s Jason Cassidy told me this week. Fluffy filmed over two days when the performer hosted two shows in San Jose, CA last March. Open Road will likely not have the same success with Fluffy as it has with Jon Favreau‘s Chef, which continues to be a box office winner more than two months after its May 9 launch. The SXSW Film Festival opener has cumed well over $27.2M since, one of the year’s biggest among the Specialty crowd.

Oscilloscope also opened Sundance doc The Kill Team with an exclusive NYC run, though with more modest results. The title, a challenging look at American soldiers charged with murdering Afghan civilians, grossed $3K.

Boyhood continues to grow up with nearly straight-A numbers as it expands. The film grossed over $1.72M over the weekend in 107 theaters (73 more than last week) for a robust $16,120 PTA. Last week the title, which is already getting Oscar buzz, averaged more than $35K from 34 runs in its second week. Boyhood, directed by Richard Linklater over a 12-year process,  has now cumed over $4.12 million. Somewhat more back down to earth, Land Ho! expanded to 14 theaters in its third round, grossing nearly $33K, averaging $2,346. Last week it grossed just over $36K in 7 theaters, averaging $5,153.

In its second weekend, A Five Star Life held decently in its single showing, grossing $9,200. The Music Box Films release opened last week at one theater, grossing $16,500. Searchlight expanded I Origins into 71 additional theaters in its second frame with slight results. The feature grossed $73K for a $961 PTA. The feature bowed fairly modestly with a $7,180 PTA in several locations last week. Focus Features also expanded its Zach Braff-directed Wish I Was Here with 625 runs in its second week. It grossed $1.11M, averaging $1,776. The second feature by Braff opened in 68 locations last week, averaging $7,279 with a $495K gross.

NEW

The Fluffy Movie (Open Road) NEW [432 Theaters] Weekend $1,314,000, Average $3,042

The Kill Team (Oscilloscope) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $3K

Magic In The Moonlight (Sony Pictures Classics) NEW [17 Theaters] Weekend $425,730, Average $25,043

A Master Builder (Abramorama) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $8,048, Cume $13,992 (Wed. Open)

A Most Wanted Man (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions) NEW [361 Theaters] Weekend $2,717,425, Average $7,527

RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND 

A Five Star Life (Music Box Films) Week 2 [1 Theater] Weekend $9,200, Cume $35,975

I Origins (Fox Searchlight) Week 2 [76 Theaters] Weekend $73K, Average $961, Cume $114,764

Persecuted (Millennium Films) Week 2 [384 Theaters] Weekend $181,183, Average $472, Cume $1,450,294

There’s No Place Like Utopia (Rocky Mountain Pictures) Week 2 [1 Theater] Weekend $3,150

Wish I Was Here (Focus Features) Week 2 [625 Theaters] Weekend $1.11M, Average $1,776, Cume $1,835,240

HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS

Boyhood (IFC Films) Week 3 [107 Theaters] Weekend $1,724,840, Average $16,120, Cume $4,125,648

Land Ho! (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 3 [14 Theaters] Weekend $32,841, Average $2,346, Cume $134,650

America: Imagine The World Without Her (Lionsgate) Week 5 [760 Theaters] Weekend $875K, Average $1,151, Cume $13,213,567

Begin Again (The Weinstein Company) Week 5 [1,244 Theaters] Weekend $1,572,000, Average $1,264, Cume $12,307,907

Snowpiercer (RADiUS-TWC) Week 5 [149 Theaters] Weekend $203,734, Average $1,367, Cume $3,905,155

Le Chef (Cohen Media Group) Week 6 [14 Theaters] Weekend $27,888, Average $1,992, Cume $263,960

Third Person (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 6 [35 Theaters] Weekend $18,573, Average $531, Cume $854,831

Obvious Child (A24) Week 8 [63 Theaters] Weekend $74,329, Average $1,180, Cume $2,788,665

Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon (RADiUS-TWC) Week 8 [4 Theaters] Weekend $1,056, Average $264, Cume $209,135

Chef (Open Road Films) Week 12 [405 Theaters] Weekend $736K, Average $1,817, Cume $27,235,303

Fed Up (RADiUS-TWC) Week 12 [13 Theaters] Weekend $2,847, Average $219, Cume $1,526,780

Ida (Music Box Films) Week 13 [45 Theaters] Weekend $58,500, Average $1,300, Cume $3,470,453