A24’s Dicks: The Musical had one of the best limited openings of the year, grossing $220,867 on seven screens in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It expands in NY/LA/SF next weekend ahead of a national rollout starting 10/20 for the R-rated romp directed by Larry Charles (Borat, Seinfeld).
The film, based on a stage show by comedians Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson, caught a wave with a solid per screen average of $31,552 including sold out Q&As in NY and LA. Sharp and Aaron star as self-obsessed businessmen who discover they’re long-lost identical twins and come together to plot the reunion of their eccentric divorced parents played by Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally. The ensemble cast also included Bowen Yang (as God), and Megan Thee Stallion — with her original song ‘Out Alpha The Alpha’.
Dicks’ soundtrack was also released Friday — original score by composers Marius de Vries (Moulin Rouge!, Coda) and Karl Saint Lucy and songs created Jackson and Sharp, who co-wrote the music for the original stage play called F***ing Identical Twins. The film was developed and co-produced by Chernin Entertainment (The Greatest Showman). It premiered at TIFF, winning the People’s Choice Award. Breakdown: Fri: $80.8k; Sat: $81.5k; Sun: estimated: $58.6k.
Comparing some limited openings on more than a couple of screens, Dumb Money by Craig Gillepsie opened in Sept. at $217k for a $27k PSA at eight locations; Emma Seligman’s Bottoms debuted in August to $516k on ten screens, a $51.6 PSA; Beau Is Afraid by Ari Aster grossed $320,396 in April at four locations for a PSA of $80K.
It was a busy weekend for indie openings with a half dozen films showing some muscle. In NYC, Magnolia Pictures music doc Joan Baez I Am A Noise grossed $17k at one location, the Film Forum. Legendary singer and activist Joan Baez looks back at her 60-year career and life from her emotional struggles to her civil rights work with MLK and a heartbreaking romance with a young Bob Dylan. Directed by Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle and Karen O’Conner. Expands to 100 locations next week.
Vertical’s She Came To Me grossed an estimated $360k on 355 screens, a wider than typical release for the distributor, which said the romantic comedy over-indexed in major markets including NY, LA, Chicago and Phoenix. She Came to me, which was the opening night film in Berlin, sold out a Thursday night sneak preview at the Angelika Film Center followed by a Q&A with Rebecca Miller and surprise moderator Bradley Cooper. Other NYC screenings at AMC Lincoln Square with Q&A’s — Anne Hathaway and Miller on Friday night, and Marisa Tomei and Miller on Saturday night – sold old. Estimated per screen average of $1,014. Breakdown: Fri: $136,000; Sat. $130,000; Sun. estimated: $94,000.
Neon’s The Royal Hotel is seeing an estimated $335k on 267 screens for a PSA of $1,255. Breakdown — Fri. $120k; Sat. $127k; Sun. estimated: $88k. The Kitty Green film that premiered at Telluride stars Jessica Henwick, Julia Garner and Hugo Weaving.
Sony Pictures Classic’s Strange Way of Life grossed $205,050 on 276 screens for a per screen average of $743 for Pedro Almodóvar’s Western short with Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal. The 30-minute film that premiered at Cannes is paired with the director’s 2021 short The Human Voice.
When Evil Lurks from IFC Films grossed $200,233 on 659 screens, for a PSA of $304. The film byArgentine director Demián Rugna (Terrified) on premiered at TIFF’s Midnight Madness.
And Rialto Pictures’ new release Cat Person will gross an estimated $10,000 on four screens this weekend in New York City and Los Angeles – with IFC Center in NYC accounting for an estimated $8,800 of the total. The film by Susanna Fogel premiered at Sundance and stars with Emilia Jones, Nichola Braun and Geraldine Viswanathan.
More to come…
