Per Theater Chart: Tangerine Has Sweet Start

July 14, 2015

The $10,000 club was busier that it was last week with four films earning a per theater average of more than $10,000. This includes the overall number one film, Minions, which earned an average of $26,905 in over 4,000 theaters. The best limited release was Tangerine with an average $15,171 in four theaters. I thought this might be a little too niche to find a large audience, but perhaps I was wrong. Up next is Baahubali: The Beginning, which was also a surprise hit with an average of $13,559 in 236 theaters. It is very rare for a Bollywood film to do that well. The final film in the $10,000 club was Do I Sound Gay? with $11,000 in its lone theater.

The best of the rest of the new limited releases was Boulevard with $7,000 in one theater. Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot also did relatively well with an average of $5,012 in four theaters, while Forever Young was right behind with an average of $5,002 in 14. Tap World was well back with an average of just $2,905 in three theaters. We had three films opening below the Mendoza Line, all of which were playing on VOD. These start with Strangerland and its average of just $794 in 22 theaters. The Suicide Theory and Meet Me in Montenegro had nearly identical starts with averages of $523 and $501 respectively, while both were playing in ten theaters.

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

• Testament of Youth has been playing for more than a month, but it finally got to $1 million over the weekend. $2 million isn't out of the question, but the film will need exceptional legs to get there.
• Amy earned more than $1 million over the weekend helping it reach $2 million in total.
• We got an update on Dil Dhadakne Do and it topped $3 million last weekend. (It's common for Bollywood films to not have weekly updates at the box office, but then have a few weeks of data released all at once.)
• On the other hand, Baahubali: The Beginning opened with more than $3 million. Bollywood movies tend to have poor legs, so $10 million is likely out of the question, but $5 million is practically assured.
• As expected, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl topped $5 million early in the weekend. It likely won't get to $10 million, but this is still a great run for a limited release.
• Finally, Island of Lemurs Madagascar got all the way to $10 million and did so more than a year after its initial release. IMAX edutainment films tend to have really, really longs legs, so long that this film might still be playing in theaters next year.

Filed under: Theater Averages, Boulevard, Minions, Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Strangerland, Tangerine, Do I Sound Gay?, Amy, Testament of Youth, Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot, Dil Dhadakne Do, The Suicide Theory, Meet Me in Montenegro, Baahubali: The Beginning, Tap World, Forever Young