As wide release titles continue to dominate the box office, the arthouse market has seen few new entrants in recent weeks. However, this weekend marks the expansion of two of the most successful specialty films of the year, with a handful of others also jumping into the market.
Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, released by Focus Features, jumped from a blockbuster six-theater opening to 1,675 locations this weekend. Meanwhile, Past Lives by Celine Song, which was released by A24 in early June on four screens, expands to 296.
In addition, Wayward Entertainment, which was launched in late 2021 by former Revolution Studios CEO Vince Totino and former Orion Pictures President John Hegeman and focuses on genre titles, is releasing their first theatrical release, God Is A Bullet, directed and written by Nick Cassavetes, on 375 screens. The film stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as a detective whose ex-wife is murdered and daughter kidnapped by an insidious cult. He takes matters into his own hands, infiltrating the secretive organization with the help of an escaped cult victim (Maika Monroe). With Jamie Foxx and Karl Glusman.
Counter-programming, the film will be playing only the two late shows at theaters, according to Hegeman, which helped it attract dates from exhibitors with busy screens. Not insisting on a full complement of shows for the edgy, R-rated revenge thriller likely doubled its theatrical footprint. Independent distributors and theaters have had to get creative post-Covid to attract audiences to smaller films beyond big-ticket studio franchises.
In addition to these releases, Roadside Attractions is opening Alex Homes-directed documentary The Last Rider on 105 screens. The film tells the story of Greg LeMond, the first and only American to win the Tour de France, one of the greatest cyclists of all time, and with a triumphant comeback story. LeMond, on death’s door after a hunting accident, emerged to beat famed rivals in the historic and nail-biting race at the 1989 Tour de France. The film, which premiered at Telluride, features exclusive interviews with LeMond and his wife Kathy, and never-before-seen footage. Its title is a reference to LeMond’s competing in an era before doping scandals grabbed cycling headlines. The release is timed partly in relation to this year’s Tour de France, which starts July 1. Roadside marketed heavily to the biking community. LeMond hosted a screening this week at the Regal Pinnacle in Knoxville, where he lives.
Alice Winocour’s Revoir Paris (Paris Memories) is being presented by Music Box Films at the IFC Center and Film and Lincoln Center in New York, expanding to LA’s Laemmle Royal next week. Starring Virginie Efira and Benoit Magimel, the film tells the story of Mia, who, three months after surviving a terrorist attack in a bistro, is still traumatized and unable to recall the events of that night. In an effort to move forward, she investigates her memories and retraces her steps.
Other openings in limited release include:
– Momentum Pictures presents mockumentary Maximum Truth by David Stassen
– Nancy Buirski’s Desperate Souls, Dark City And The Legend Of Midnight Cowboy
– Greenwich Entertainment presents Here. Is. Better., director Jack Youngelson’s documentary about the rising mental health crisis in America
– TK Features’ Kings of L.A.
– Wise Lars’ Loren & Rose with Jacqueline Bisset and Kelly Blatz
– Buffalo 8’s Love Gets A Room by Rodrigo Cortés
– Netflix’s animated Nimona
– China Lion Film Distribution’s The Procurator by Alan Mak.
As the arthouse market sees new entrants and specialty films expand, independent distributors and theaters have had to get creative post-Covid to attract audiences to smaller films beyond big-ticket studio franchises.