Asteroid City, the latest film by Wes Anderson and presented by Focus Features, made a big impact on the specialty box office over the weekend. The film smashed records with an estimated $790k three-day gross and $890k estimated for the four-day weekend, despite only being shown in six theaters. This resulted in a per-theater average of $132,211 for the three days and $148,901 for the four days, representing the biggest PTA of the year, and since Covid, and for some years before it.
This is not the first time Wes Anderson has energized the specialty box office. His Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 opened at $800k on four screens, for a PSA of $200k, which was considered the one to beat in absolute terms.
According to Focus Features, Asteroid City achieved a number of milestones, including the best per-theatre average since December of 2016 when La La Land opened to a $176,220 per theater. It also achieved the best per-theater average of all time for a film that opened in six locations, beating American Hustle at $123,509. Additionally, it set the all-time best per-theater average for a Focus Features Film, beating Wes Anderson’s 2012 Moonrise Kingdom ($130,700 from four theaters). The film also achieved the best opening weekend of all time at the Angelika Theatre and the Sunset Theatre.
To mark the release of the film, Landmark reopened the latter venue with a full pop-up experience replicating the set, and the film played on all five screens. This was part of a big marketing push by Focus, which plans to expand the release to approximately 1,500 theaters next weekend.
Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features’ President of Distribution, said, “We are beyond thrilled by this weekend’s record-breaking results and the overwhelmingly positive response. Wes Anderson is a singular director with unmatched creative vision, and it is so gratifying to see adult moviegoers returning to theaters to join in on the fun of this film. We are off to a tremendous start and can’t wait to share Asteroid City with even more audiences in the weeks to come.”
Bunnell also noted that the film is drawing a diverse crowd, with lots of younger people in attendance, which is important for specialty theaters to attract. The 9 and 10 pm shows have been lively.
The success of Asteroid City was due to the combined efforts of Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse, and Angelika, all of which made big pushes, and with lots of support from AMC, which will have the most runs next week as the film expands.
There weren’t many other openings over the weekend as distributors steered clear amid a pile-up of high-profile wide releases. One notable release was Telugu film Adipurush, from Viva Entertainment, which made an estimated $1.6 million on 550 screens, putting it in the top ten for the weekend.
A24’s Past Lives, which expanded to 85 screens across top markets this weekend (week three), also performed well, grossing an estimated $761k for the three-day weekend and $923k for the four days, bringing its cumulative gross to $2.06 million. The success of both these films is a boost for the indie market.