A24 Marcel the shell with shoes reached the top ten in North America at no. 8 with a $340,000 estimate in week three in just 48 locations and a runup north of $963,000 – the latest hit for the distributor after Powerhouse Everything everywhere all at once exploded at the specialized box office. marcel, based on a popular 2010 YouTube series, is on a much slower rollout than that, but in terms of specialty releases, it’s one of the biggest since Covid.
The distributor acquired Dean Fleischer Camp’s stop-motion/live-action hybrid of an adorable snail, voiced by Jenny Slate, at Telluride last fall and screened it at SXSW – where Everywhere caused a sensation. It’s a critics’ favorite (certified 99% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), it has strong word-of-mouth (92% RT audience score) and stellar exit polls to match. It will expand to 130-150 screens next week for a long summer run.
“It’s absolutely imperative that everyone see our film in theaters because we made it to be enjoyed that way,” Camp says over email. “Not only does the theatrical experience really put you in Marcel’s shoes (sorry), but it’s a movie about the importance of community, which we all feel right now, and that stuff is different when you’re with a large group all laughing and crying together.
There’s a big opportunity here because the audience is mostly A24’s 18-35 year old indie film fan demo for what could be a lovely kids’ crossover film. Fans of the original YouTube series are now Millennials/Gen Z, and while the percentage of a self-described family audience is growing every week, it’s still mostly parents bringing their kids. marcel has the best word of mouth of any A24 film and far more intellectual property than is typical for the distributor. A marcel short film and several books followed the original series.
The mockumentary follows Marcel and his grandmother Connie, voiced by Isabella Rossellini, who were once part of a sprawling community of seashells who now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. When a documentary filmmaker discovers them in the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he uploads brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented danger and new hope of reuniting with his long-lost family. . Marcel opened to $170,000 on six screens on June 24 in New York and Los Angeles with a per-screen average of $28,267.
Everywhere grossed around $241,000 over the weekend grossing more than $67.6 million since opening in late March as young demos flocked to the indie fantasy martial arts feature, the highest-grossing movie ever. ‘A24 at the domestic box office. The film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert stars Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu and Ke Huy Quan. (Kwan is married to At Marcel’s animation director, Kirsten Lepore.)
A24’s releases this year and last also include The Green Knight, Zola, Lamb, Go Go, Macbeth (with Apple) red rocket and X.
Specialized openings this weekend: There were good ones. neon lights fire of lovewhich opened on three screens last Wednesday, had a strong three-day weekend of $40,686 for a per-theater average of $7,443 and a total cume of $40,686 (PSA of $13,562).
Moving Image Museum
Kino Lorber’s Murine brought in a solid $6,702 at one location, New York’s Metrograph.
“We are thrilled with the audience’s embrace” of the film, says Wendy Lidell, SVP Cinema/Non-Cinema Distribution and Camera d’Or winner acquisitions by Antonieta Kusijanovic. Lidell said the opening puts the film “well positioned to continue this success as we expand to over a dozen additional cities next week” – including Los Angeles, Chicago, Montreal, Washington DC and Miami.
IFC Films Both sides of the blade had a weekend gross of $25,000 at four theaters for a public service announcement of $6,250 and a cumulative $25,000. (crazy god of IFC Midnight/Shudder, in the second week, saw a gross of $19,000 in 25 locations for a PSA of $760 and a cumulative of $215,737.)
Opening of White Hill Studios Sharing 2 in 55 locations starting at $99,000 for a PTA of $1,800. Punjabi film originated in ‘Pollywood’ as the landscape of regional Indian films from Bollywood and beyond continues to expand in the United States
Among the remains, Mr. Malcolm’s List of Bleecker Street was no. 10 in North America in week two across 1,057 locations with a gross of $245,416 (PSA of $232) and a cumulative of $1.64 million.
Roadside attractions’ The Forgiven saw an estimated three-day gross of $63,275 across 137 screens in week two for a per-screen average of $462 and cumulative to date of $278,589.
Sony Pictures Classics Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, also in week two, grossed $37,621 across 15 screens, up from three last week, for a per-screen average of $2,508 and grossing $75,871.
Comments are closed.