Specialty Box Office: “The King’s Speech” Rules the Weekend

Weekend Box Office: November 26th to the 28th

In a weekend of few specialty debuts, The King’s Speech debuted in four theaters to a 2010 record breaking average of $87,500. Festival buzz has been hovering around the film and Colin Firth’s performance for months, but this weekend’s $350,000 gross has given The Weinstein Company something tangible to be thankful for this holiday season. The film depicts King George VI (Coin Firth) who must overcome a speech impediment in order to lead in a time of war. With a supporting cast filled with talent like Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, the piece has been screaming for Oscar gold since its screening at TIFF in September and later at the London fest in October. After this weekend’s debut, Tom Hooper’s festival darling should have no trouble expanding into more and more territories.

In studio news, the box office was inundated with newcomers trying to cash in on the Thanksgiving break. While Disney’s Tangled made $49.1 million and proved that a Mouse House success without Pixar was still possible, the big-budget underwhelming Burlesque from Screen Gems struggled to find an audience (grossing only $11.8 million). Films with a slightly smaller budget like Faster and Love and Other Drugs will hope to grind their way to success over the coming weeks (though the small debut looks bleak in terms of garnering Oscar nominations for Anne Hathaway and James L. Brooks). In terms of next week, look out for a limited release in 19 locations of Aronofsky’s Black Swan, a wide release for Relativity Media’s The Warrior’s Way, and Oscilloscope Pictures’ Rare Exports (a genre film in the same vein as “Santa’s Slay”).

U.S Indie:
While studio films scrape for attention amidst an influx of holiday releases, “127 Hours” expanded to 293 theaters and grossed $1.7 million. The $5,887 average was impressive considering the number of studio films fighting for a demographic. Look for “Hours” to expand with a shelf life much longer than “Fair Game,” the Summit release also in its fourth week that grossed around $200,000 less in 100 more theaters than “Hours” had to work with.

While IFC Films’ “Tiny Furniture” won’t make millions, the film grossed $40,500 over the weekend in only 5 theaters. This $8,100 average was enough to justify further expansion for the micro-budget indie. With Lena Dunham also up for a Gotham award tonite, it’s looking to be a merry Christmas for this up-and-coming director.

World Cinema:
Freestyle Releasing’s The Nutcracker 3D debuted in an ambitious 42 locations over the weekend. Unsurprisingly, the film only managed to gross $68,000 as studio pictures like “Tangled” and “Megamind” dominated 3D screens across the country. With more 3D films on the horizon, “Nutcracker” will most likely continue on a trend of small per-screen averages (a $1,619 average in its first week).
Sony Classics’ “Made in Dagenham” seems to be made for box-office mediocrity after struggling to meet expectations. With an expansion to eleven theaters and a $5,727 average, it will take much more in the coming weeks to find an audience with further expansion by “The King’s Speech” and the incoming influx of specialty releases like “Black Swan.”

Documentary:
Straight out of Central Park comes The Legend of Pale Male, the story of what it takes for one hawk to survive in New York City. The title from Balcony Releasing grossed $13,100 in one theater and will unlikely see much more.

With only an 8% decline, Sony Classics’ “Inside Job” held well in its eighth week. With $2.6 million grossed, the documentary will likely add a couple hundred thousand next week as it continues to back out slowly from the box office.

Specialty Box Office Top 5

Box Office Top 10

Next Weekend: Black Swan, The Warrior’s Way, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, I Love You Phillip Morris