Box Office 2.0: Recapping The Competition Films of Sundance ‘09

Mo’Nique in a scene from Lee Daniels’ “Precious.” Image courtesy of Lionsgate

The U.S. Dramatic Competition

The Films: Adam, Amreeka, The Answer Man (aka Arlen Faber), Big Fan, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Cold Souls, Dare, Don’t Let Me Drown, The Greatest, Humpday, Paper Heart, Peter and Vandy, Precious, Sin Nombre, Taking Chance, Toe to Toe
The Award Winners: “Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (both Jury and Audience)
The Big Deals: “Sin Nombre” (Focus Features) was already secured pre-fest; “Adam” (Fox Searchlight) and “Humpday” (Magnolia) were both picked up during the fest;  while “Precious”‘s Lionsgate/Oprah/Tyler Perry/not the Weinsteins deal was by far the most discussed indie deal of the year, and occurred shortly afterwards. In the end, most of the competition ended up getting picked up, including “The Answer Man” (Magnolia), “Amreeka” (National Geographic), “Big Fan” (First Independent), “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men” (IFC Films), “Cold Souls” (Samuel Goldwyn), “Dare” (Image Entertainment), “Paper Heart” (Overture Films), “Peter and Vandy” (Strand), and as-yet-unreleased “The Greatest” (Paladin) and “Toe To Toe” (Strand).
The Top Grossers: “Precious” (by far, with $44,311,459 and counting), followed by “Sin Nombre” ($2,536,665) and “Adam” ($2,277,396).
The Biggest Disappointment: “Humpday,” which was a huge favorite among fest-goers and ended up managing only $407,377.

The World Documenatry Competition

The Films: 211:Anna, Afghan Star, Big River Man, Burma VJ, The End of the Line, The Glass House, Kimjongilia, Let’s Make Money, Nollywood Babylon, Old Partner, Prom Night in Mississippi, The Queen and I, Quest for Honor, Rough Aunties, Thriller in Manila, Tibet in Song
The Award Winners: “Rough Aunties” (Jury), “Afghan Star” (Audience)
The Big Deals: Unfortunately, very few. Havana Marking’s “Afghan Star” (Zeitgeist Films), Anders Østergaard’s “Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope Pictures), and John Maringouin’s “Big River Man” (in an exclusive run at NYC’s IFC Center) were the only three films to find theatrical releases in 2009.
The Top Grossers: “Afghan Star” ($102,115).
The Biggest Disappointment: Calling any of them a disappointment considering they were the only ones to be released just seems cruel.

The World Dramatic Competition

The Films: Before Tomorrow, Bronson, Carmo, Hit the Road, The Clone Returns Home, Dada’s Dance, An Education, Lost Village, Five Minutes of Heaven, A French Gigolo, Heart of Time, Louise-Michel, from within, Lulu and Jim, The Maid, One Day in a Life , Unmade Beds, Victoria Day, Zion and His Brother
The Award Winners: “The Maid” (Jury), “An Education” (Audience)
The Big Deals: “An Education” was the big pick-up during the fest, with Sony Classics taking North American and multi-territory rights. Magnet took rights to “Bronson” a month after the fest, Elephant Eye had the rights to “The Maid” by April, while IFC Films eventually took “Five Minutes of Heaven.”
The Top Grossers: By far “An Education” ($8,168,597 and counting), with “The Maid” a distant second ($505,181)
The Biggest Disappointment: While being released On Demand through IFC probably was an additional help, “Five Minutes of Heaven” grossed only $15,676 in theaters despite the presence of Liam Neeson.

“Box Office 2.0” is a weekly column by indieWIRE Associate Editor Peter Knegt. Check out the previous editions:

Box Office 2.0: Tracking The Awards Contenders
Box Office 2.0: The Biggest Stories of the 2009 Indie Box Office
Box Office 2.0: “Broken Embraces” and the Cannes ‘09 Crop
Box Office 2.0: What Happens To “Precious” Now?
Box Office 2.0: The Curious Case of “Orson Welles”
Box Office 2.0: Fall Winners and Losers
Box Office 2.0: Assessing 2009’s Dox Office From “Capitalism” to “The Cove”
Box Office 2.0: Two Notable DIY Releases That Opened In “Precious”‘s Shadow
Box Office 2.0: Snap Judgements & Great Expectations