Specialty Box Office: ‘Obvious Child’ Bows Big; ‘The Grand Seduction,’ ‘Chef’ Expansions Solid

A24‘s Obvious Child opened to solid numbers in a crowded weekend some other distributors likely would rather forget. The abortion comedy, based on a 2009 short by filmmaker Gillian Robespierre, bowed with $81K in three theaters in NYC and LA for a robust $27K per-theater average. A24, which has had a nice winning streak of recent openers including Under The Skin (which opened in April with a $35K PTA in four theaters), was pleased with Obvious Child‘s results when reporting numbers Sunday:
“Sundance hit Obvious Child opened with the highest per screen (average) in the country this weekend and is now poised to become one of the breakout hits of summer. The hilarious and crowd-pleasing romantic comedy, featuring a star-making performance by actress/comedian Jenny Slate, received overwhelmingly positive reviews (over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes) and incredible word-of-mouth, including continual love throughout social media.  The ‘revolutionary’ film that MTV called “your next obsession” saw sell-out shows on both Friday and Saturday.” A24 will expand the film to top markets over the next three weeks and go nationwide June 27.
Variance Films bowed Citizen Koch in a single location, grossing $10,200 in New York. Reporting the numbers Sunday, Variance said the feature had been pulled from its “scheduled PBS airing” after the filmmakers “refused to change the title and alter the film, changes requested by public television executives fearing the wrath of multi-billionaire (and major PBS donor) ... Read More »

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