Theater Averages: Searching Found an Audience in Limited Release

August 29, 2018

Searching

Searching had one of the ten best theater averages for a limited release so far this year, earning an average of $43,197 in nine theaters. The film is scheduled to expand wide this Friday and this start combined with its reviews is a good omen for its box office chances. The Bookshop was well back in second place with an average of $12,000 in 4 theaters. Meanwhile the only holdover was The Wife, which held on well with an average of $11,819 while playing in 18 theaters. The film should earn some measure of mainstream success, but I’m not sure it will last in theaters long enough to earn any real Awards Season buzz. Finally, John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection wasn’t able to reach the $10,000 club over the three-day weekend, as it earned $7,878 in its lone theater. However, it was a Wednesday release and it earned $11,733 during its five-day debut.

Before we get to the rest of the new limited releases, we have a correction. Juliet, Naked actually earned an average of $15,222 in 4 theaters, not $3,582 in 17 theaters as we reported. They sent us a theater count of 17, before correcting it, but I missed the correction, hence the error. Sorry about any confusion that might have caused.

None of the rest of the other new limited releases came close to the $10,000 club. Hot to Trot was the “best” of the rest, but it only earned $3,133 in one theater. Crime + Punishment was close behind with an average of $2,929 in three theaters. Papillon barely avoided the Mendoza line with an average of $2,004 in 544.

There were several other releases that missed the Mendoza Line ($2,000/theater). Oolong Courtyard: Kung Fu School only managed an average of $1,907 in 10 theaters, while The Night is Short, Walk on Girl with an average of $1,798 in eight theaters. Despite 92% positive reviews, Support the Girls earned an opening weekend average of $1,551 in 33 theaters. An L.A. Minute only managed an average of $930 in three theaters. Beautifully Broken was even worse with an average of $905 in 651 theaters.

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

  • McQueen was the first of three films to reach $1 million since this time last week.
  • Papillon opened with $1 million, so obviously it reached that milestone in the process. However, it only managed an average of a little more than $2,000/theater, so it won’t last in theaters long.
  • Puzzle also made it to $1 million over the weekend. It has likely peaked at the box office, but that shouldn’t stop it from getting to $2 million before it is done.
  • It took nearly two full months, but Whitney finally got to $3 million.
Weekend Box Office Results

Filed under: Theater Averages, Papillon, Whitney, McQueen, Yoru Wa Mijikashi Aruke Yo Otome, The Bookshop, Juliet, Naked, The Wife, Puzzle, Beautifully Broken, Searching, L’empire de la perfection, Support The Girls, An L.A. Minute, Crime + Punishment, Oolong Courtyard:Kung Fu School, Hot to Trot