Specialty Box Office

As September comes to a close and October brings in autumnal vibes, the country (and the world for that matter) is focusing on two things: the forthcoming November election and the end of the world. Luckily, in this early edition of this week’s specialty preview, we have something that is relevant to both! After making
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The majority of the specialty box office has shifted to virtual debut, streaming and digital-only since theaters have shuttered due to the pandemic, but as physical theaters begin to open their doors, titles have returned to the big screen, slowly pumping life into the long-dormant specialty space. Bleecker Street’s post-WWII thriller The Secrets We Keep opened
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As box offices start to test the waters, Roger Michell’s family drama Blackbird starring Susan Sarandon is set to open in theaters and on demand starting today. Known for My Cousin Rachel and Notting Hill, Michell directs a script by Christian Torpe, who wrote the 2014 Danish film, Silent Heart on which the family drama is based. In it,
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The origin of the drama Buoyancy can be traced back to when Australian filmmaker Rodd Rathjen came across an article a few years ago about Cambodian workers and their life on a Thai fishing trawler. He became riveted by the unbelievable story and upon more research, he said in a statement: “The scale of modern
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As the world seems like it is aflame with a pandemic, divisive rhetoric from an oppressive administration and the unjust killing of Black lives at the hands of police officers, hope seems dim. However, there are voices and role models in the world that are fighting for change and on the frontlines fighting against 45,
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After making its world premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield is ready to hit theaters. Searchlight Pictures is debuting the reimagining of the Charles Dickens’ classic starring Dev Patel in physical theaters (remember those?). To be more specific, the film will open in over 1,350 theaters across
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After numerous delays, Well Go USA’s Cut Throat City is finally making its debut — and in theaters. Yes, you heard that right. The RZA-directed crime drama will make its way into select theaters starting today as they slowly start to open their doors across the country. “Well Go is a supporter of the traditional theatrical
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You may have heard his name uttered by Kanye West or Migos in songs but Martin Margiela isn’t necessarily a household name when it comes to fashion — but it should be. One of the most elusive designers in the fashion industry, there are barely any photos of him on the internet, but his work
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The fight for freedom of the press and against the oppressive political regime in the Philippines takes center stage in Ramona S. Diaz’s A Thousand Cuts, which opens in theaters and in virtual theaters nationwide. As journalists around the world face threats and the term “fake news” is thrown around recklessly by world leaders, A Thousand Cuts puts Filipino
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It’s a volatile time in our country. We are divided and there’s an extreme sense of civic unrest. As hopeless as many of us feel, there are heroes on the front lines who are protecting our constitutional freedoms when it comes to abortion rights, immigration rights, LGBTQ rights and voting rights — and those heroes
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Amazon Studios brings the story of Marie Curie to the screen with Radioactive starring Oscar-nominated actress Rosamund Pike as the pioneering scientist. Directed by Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) and written by Jack Thorne, Radioactive is based on the 2010 graphic novel Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss. The film adaptation follows
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Vaclav Marhoul’s adaptation of Jerzy Kosinsky’s novel The Painted Bird has been on quite a journey. The film took more than a decade to be made and it premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival where it was honored with the Cinema for UNICEF Award before debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival. The pic was
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With its sun-kissed energy and oasis vibes, it’s appropriate that the Max Barbakow-directed comedy Palm Springs be released during the summer. The time-hopping comedy made its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year and drops on Hulu today. The film written by Andy Siara follows carefree Nyles (Andy Samberg), who meets Sarah (Cristin Milioti) a reluctant
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John Lewis has always been fighting for civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health-care reform and immigration. He’s been doing it for over 60 years so to say that his narrative is relevant more now than ever is a wild understatement. In the documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble, director Dawn Porter (Trapped, Gideon’s Army) chronicles
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In what has been one hell of an election year, Jon Stewart is cutting through all of it with his biting political comedy Irresistible starring Steve Carell, Rose Byrne and Chris Cooper. The Focus Features film was originally set to hit theaters on May 29, but like all films impacted by the pandemic, it pivoted to
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On June 19, 1865, slavery was abolished in Texas, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It is a benchmark in Black history and is more timely now than ever as it is a day to celebrate and champion Black voices. That said, it is a good day for the debut of Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss
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We’ve seen Elisabeth Moss take on corporate male toxicity in Mad Men, a ghost of a man in The Invisible Man, Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale and punk rock in Her Smell. This weekend we’ll see her try her as a horror author who tries not unravel as she goes through her creative process in the Josephine Decker-directed Shirley. The
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The Focus Features musical dramedy The High Note is looking to hit exactly that as it lands on-demand starting today. Directed by Late Night‘s Nisha Ganatra from a script by Flora Greeson, the film was originally set to hit theaters on May 8 but, like many films, the film adapted and shifted to a digital. However, with theaters slowly
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Director and cinematographer Benjamin Ree injected his deep interest with art theft in his latest feature The Painter and the Thief, which drops in virtual cinemas as well as VOD platforms starting Friday. The documentary debuted at Sundance earlier this year and went on to win the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative
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Annette Bening, Bill Nighy and Josh O’ Connor are ready to deal with some serious family issues in the drama Hope Gap. Screen Media Ventures and Roadside Attractions released the film today on digital platforms after having to pivot from their originally planned March 5 theatrical release due to the pandemic –because the show must go
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The story of the notorious outlaw Ned Kelly is dropping on digital and on-demand today with the Justin Kurzel-directed True History of the Kelly Gang starring George MacKay (1917, Captain Fantastic), Russell Crowe (Boy Erased, The Loudest Voice) and Nicholas Hoult (The Banker, X-Men franchise). The grimy western crime drama, which was adapted by Kurzel from
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There are more than enough streaming and VOD titles of all genres in the specialty arena making their debut this weekend as they shift from theatrical to streaming for your quarantine entertainment. For those who need to quench their thirst for a rom-com, Mike Doyle’s Almost Love is set to premiere. The Vertical Entertainment film made
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The specialty box office space has quickly adapted to the changing film landscape as many are shifting to virtual theatrical openings. Many indie and arthouse titles do day and date releases and are VOD-only so the transition, for the most part, is familiar territory for many distributors and production companies. Written and directed by Jonathan
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As theaters shutter and big studio films postpone wide theatrical releases, indie and arthouse films are trying their best to navigate the waters of the coronavirus outbreak. Like big banner titles, many indie films that were set to release this weekend are opting to delay their debuts, while a handful are opting for a digital
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Despite a handful of films postponing their release dates as a precautionary measure in the wake of the coronavirus, the specialty box office is persevering and hoping that arthouse audience will come through. Last week, A24’s First Cow delivered a career-high opening for Kelly Reichardt — but that was before the coronavirus turned into a pandemic.
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There was a stampede of new titles opening this weekend at the specialty box office, and despite coronavirus-induced fears of being in close proximity in theaters, there weren’t any glaring slumps in the indie and arthouse space. Of the films released this weekend, First Cow made some moo-ves at the box office, earning an estimated
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A24 is ready to milk the weekend with their new film First Cow from director Kelly Reichardt. The film isn’t about a presidential cow, but it is about a special bovine creature. Set in the 19th century, the film follows a lone cook (John Magaro) as he travels west with a group of fur trappers. Out
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Impractical Jokers: The Movie isn’t pranking us when it comes to their box office performance. After having a stellar opening last week, the big-screen adaptation of WarnerMedia’s truTV prank show expanded from 357 to nearly 1,800 theaters and earned an estimated $3,545,000, to bring its cume to $6.6 million. The movie has now cracked the top
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The Parasite train keeps on gaining traction. The four-time Oscar-winning Bong Joon-ho dark comedy is crossing $50M right now at the domestic box office — but the real question is, can it beat Life Is Beautiful’s box office gross of $57M. If it maintains its momentum, signs are pointing to yes. As its Imax run comes to
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Focus Features proved this weekend that Jane Austen’s classic of romantic misadventures and the humor that goes with it remains timeless. Emma, Autumn de Wilde’s visionary and fresh adaptation of the Austen novel, opened in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles to strong numbers, grossing an estimated $230,000. This brought the per-theater average
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