Specialty Box Office: Black Swan Soars High Above 'The Fighter'

Weekend Box Office: December 10th to the 12th

While Paramount released The Fighter to an outstanding $320,000 gross in only four theaters, Black Swan expanded to 90 theaters and jumped to 6th place in this week’s box office. $80,000 per theater was enough to give “Fighter” the third best limited debut of the year, but “Swan” held strong with an impressive $37,022 average. In a week where studio debuts like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader underperformed, numbers in the specialty market looked stronger than ever as audiences prepare for wide releases of their favorite Oscar contenders. Look for “Swan” to remain in the top ten next week while Paramount aggressively expands “Fighter” to over 2,000 new locations.

Lackluster numbers from “Narnia” followed by The Tourist unsurprisingly taking the number two spot may have made room for movies like “Swan” and “Fighter” to shine this past weekend, but holiday tent poles like “Tron: Legacy” could stir the pot this week. ATO Pictures is also looking to create some buzz for its upcoming limited debut of “Casino Jack.” The film stars Kevin Spacey playing the role of Jack Abramoff, a former lobbyist and convicted felon.

U.S Indie & Foreign:
“The King’s Speech” has expanded to only 19 theaters in its third week but hauled in an impressive $31,158 average. This gave the Weinstein Company $592,000 worth of reasons to maintain its conservative expansion strategy. Look for this picture to really gain momentum as the award nominations start to roll in.

Fox Searchlight is hoping for the same thing in terms of “127 Hours.” The film actually withdrew from a few theaters this past week and took in a modest $2,368 average. The distributor is hoping that names like Boyle and Franco will remind audiences of the film come awards season with a wide release planned for late January.

“Shakespeare in Love” cost around $25 million to make and went on to gross over $100 million domestically for Miramax. Julie Taymor’s ambitious version of The Tempest looks like it will be lucky to make back its budget. Miramax’s expansion strategy looks uncertain for a film which averaged an unpromising $9,000 in five locations this past weekend. Hopefully Taymor's Broadway production isn't met with the same fate.

Numbers for “I Love You, Phillip Morris” weren’t exactly astounding in its sophomore outing, but the dark comedy from Roadside Attractions might just have the variety needed to compete in an inundated specialty numbers. While films like “Casino Jack” and “The Tempest” could struggle against “Speech,” “Fighter,” and “Swan,” “Morris” could laugh its way into a wide release. A $4,514 average may not seem like much, but increased advertisements are likely to get heads turning for stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.

Documentary:
While not reaching numbers quite as high as “Waiting for Superman,” “Inside Job” has had similar staying power. “Job” has now grossed over $3 million dollars and made 10 weeks of box office magic for Sony Classics. Director Charles Ferguson previously received an Oscar nomination for “No End in Sight” and will likely receive a future nomination for “Job.”

Specialty Box Office Top 5

Box Office Top 10

Next Weekend:
Casino Jack, Rabbit Hole, Tron: Legacy, How Do You Know, Yogi Bear

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