‘Tuesday’, ‘Treasure’, ‘I Used To Be Funny’ Lead Quiet Arthouse Weekend As Wider Market Rebounds: “Maybe We Have To Get Mainstream Back On Its Feet” First – Specialty Box Office
16.06.2024 - 20:13
/ deadline.com
It was an Inside Out specialty weekend, fairly quiet and with a stream of indies films and more wide releases. The schedule is starting to recover from a strike-induced slump that, however, provided oxygen to some indies.
Small films have been competing for screens with majors at arthouses from Alamo Drafthouse to Landmark since theaters reopened post-Covid and the more of them there are, the harder it is. It’s nice to see major back and the broader box office on a solid footing. But it would also be nice to see more indie breakouts like Civil War, Late Night With The Devil, Immaculate, Wicked Little Letters, One Life or Love Lies Bleeding.
“June is crowded” with indies now, says one distributor. And theaters “don’t have space to support indies in a meaningful way.”
Others are heartened by recent wide-release blowouts. “It’s still a tough market. But I’m encouraged” by Inside Out 2 and Bad Boys: Ride Or Die — nos. 1 and 2 at the weekend box office with, respectively, $155 million and $112 million. “Maybe we have to get mainstream back on its feet after the Covid/strike impact, and slowly rebuild the ecosystem to include successful independent releases,” says another distributor.
A24’s Tuesday saw $292k in a big week 2 expansion on 654 screens for a cume of $324.6k. Director Dana O. Pusic’s modern fairy tale starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus will continue to play through the summer. The story revolves around a mother (Louis-Dreyfus) and her teenage daughter (Lola Petticrew), who must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an otherworldly talking bird.
A24’s thoroughly comedic outing with Louis-Dreyfus last year, You Hurt My Feelings, grossed $4.8 million domestic.
Bleecker Street’s comedy-drama Treasure by Julia