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IFC’s Late Night With The Devil has scared up the distributor’s largest opening weekend ever with an estimated $2.8+ million on 1.043 screens, coming in at no. 6 at the domestic box office.
Prior to this weekend, Watcher was IFC’s top opening film at $827k, followed by Skinamarink with $819k and Blackberry at $801k. Late Night was IFC’s widest opening since The D Train (1,009), the distributor said, noting it was IFC’s highest opening day ($437k) since Skinamakink, and its highest Thursday pre-show ($317k). The film by Australian duo Colin and Cameron Cairnes unfolds almost in real-time on the set of a 1977 late-night talk show broadcast that unexpectedly transforms from amusing to sinister, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Stars David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Oppenheimer) as talk show host Jack Delroy.
The Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures pic premiered at SXSW and has since played Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Sydney Film Festival, BIFAN in Korea, Sitges, London Film Festival, and Toronto After Dark. Cameron and Colin won for Best Screenplay at Sitges.
“We knew from the first material we introduced into the market that we had something really special and people were kind of gravitating to the concept of the film early on,” Scott Shooman, head of AMC Film Group, told Deadline. The weekend follows a strong run with The Taste Of Things and Stopmotion as the distributor hits its stride after a period of cost cutting at parent AMC Networks and exodus of top executives that started a year ago.
“We are excited that so many people came out to see this horror film,” Shooman said. “Late Night With The Devil continues to showcase that there is still potential for highly reviewed, intelligent auteur films in movie theaters across all genres.”
Limited openings: Carol Doda Topless At The Condor from Picturehouse grossed a solid $43k at four theaters in NYC, LA and San Francisco with live “Doda-Esque” burlesque shows at the Roxie SF and Nuart. The dance shows will come to the Angelika in New York next week as well as Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. The documentary from San Francisco filmmakers Marlo McKenzie and Jonathan Parker is a celebration of the first topless dancer and 1960s San Francisco.
Utopia’s Femme grossed $15k and took the top spot at IFC Center in NYC, one of the distributor’s strongest opening to date with The Sweet East, Holy Spider, Vortex, Sick of Myself and Meet Me in the Bathroom (all of which opened at IFC Center to #1 rankings as well). The Berlinale lauded, British Independent Film Award-winning queer revenge thriller Directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping stars George Mackay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Adds the Grove in LA next week ahead of a larger national expansion on April 5.
Noting Utopia and Fathom Events special presentation of Hal Needham’s remastered cult-BMX-classic Rad grossed over $500k for a one-night release on Thursday 3/21, paired with a new Q&A moderated by Rad superfan Ed Helms. It was the films 5th theatrical re-release in the last four years with Rad having grossed over $1.3M theatrically for Utopia.
Cartilage Films’ indie comedy Free Time by Ryan Martin Brown grossed $6k at the Quad Cinema in NYC. Shot in just 10 days in Brooklyn, the film had multiple sold out shows over the weekend, including in-person appearances by Brown alongside star Colin Burgess. Jasper Basch’s rebooted label said the gross represents the best opening weekend gross for a U.S. film at the Quad Cinema this year.
“Ryan and his collaborators have created a movie that’s both funny and insightful, and seeing diverse audiences come out to the theater this weekend and respond favorably to it has been wonderful. The positive feedback for the film reinforces our belief that a great movie of any size can resonate with people when given an opportunity,” said Basch. Expands to Los Angeles next week, adds markets throughout the spring.
Riddle of Fire from Yellow Veil Pictures & Vinegar Syndrome took in an estimated $24l in 28 theaters. Weston Razooli’s whimsical neo-fairytale follows three rascal children run afoul of an enigmatic coven.
Music Box Films’ and Brainstorm Media opened Ivan Sen’s Limbo at the Film Forum and the Laemmle’s Monica Film Center to a gross of $5.8k. The film, which played Berlin and TIFF, expands next week to other top market including Chicago and Seattle. Follows Travis Hurley (Simon Baker), a detective, whoarrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago.