Specialty Box Office: Tom Hardy’s ‘Locke’ Drives A Solid Launch; ‘Fading Gigolo’ Strong In Expansion

The weekend welcomed well over a half-dozen new Specialty releases, though most had tepid theatrical launches at best. A24‘s Locke was the sole exception, opening in several locations and grossing over $89K for a solid $22,302 theater average. The result is another feather in the cap for A24, coming on the heels of its Jonathan Glazer-directed feature starring Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin, at the beginning of April. That film is the year’s 3rd highest opener in terms of averages among Specialties ($35K in 4 locations). Locke sold to virtually every territory ahead of last year’s AFM and had a healthy start in the U.K., opening recently. A24 touted its Locke roll out Sunday when reporting numbers: “Locke had the highest per screen average in the country this weekend opening at $89,210 on 4 screens in NY and LA. Steven Knight’s extraordinary film received rave reviews, particularly for Tom Hardy’s one-man tour-de-force performance that is already garnering awards buzz.” The distributor will move Locke into the top 50 markets on this side of the Atlantic in the coming weeks.
Argentina’s entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration last year, The German Doctor, had the weekend’s second best PTA among newcomers. It grossed just over $35K in five theaters for a $7K theater average. “It’s a cool thriller ... Read More »

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