Box Office: “Food, Inc” Tops Trio Of Strong Openers; “Away” Goes On (UPDATED)

Budgeted only at $5 million, sci-fi drama “Moon” should have an easier time achieving that goal. Sony Classics released the Sundance alum on a relatively aggressive 8 screens this weekend, and got an impressive $145,218 gross.  Indie sci-fi is a pretty untested genre, but “Moon”‘s $18,152 average suggests that Sony Classics’ risk might become their reward.

Other openers included Steve Clark’s “The Last International Playboy,” which grossed $12,627 from its sole engagement at the Village East Cinema in New York City; and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s doc “Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love,” which opened decent on three New York screens. Though it didn’t find “Food, Inc.”-sized numbers, its $30,500 opening is hopeful nonetheless.  Other than “Food,” its $10,167 average is the highest PTA for a doc opener since April.

Last weekend’s iW BOT champ (and the second best specialty opener of the year), Sam Mendes’ road trip dramedy “Away We Go,” made good on its initial promise in its sophomore frame. The Focus Features release went from 4 to 45 screens and saw its gross jump 325% to $554,000.  Its $12,311 average now actually has it tracking slightly ahead of the year’s best opener (and “Away”‘s Big Beach sibling), “Sunshine Cleaning,” which has taken in $11,796,977 since opening this March. “Away We Go”‘s total cume stands at $751,322 after 10 days.

More good news came from the second weekend of Nati Baratz’s doc “Unmistaken Child.”  Oscilloscope reported the film’s expansion from 1 to 3 screens saw its average drop only slightly to $5,757, and its grosses from its one holdover engagement - at New York’s Film Forum - actually rose a staggering 32%. “Child”‘s total gross stands at $32,105.  Another doc - Arthouse Film’s “Herb & Dorothy” - also held on strong. Static on 2 screens, the film’s average dropped minimally from $4,621 to $4,041.

Other holdovers included Here Media and Regent Releasing’s Oscar-winning “Departures,” which went from 16 to 23 screens and held on strong.  The Yojiro Takita film grossed another $104,098, averaging a steady $4,526 and taking its total to $334,104.

Sony Classics’ “Easy Virtue,” which doubled its screen count to 90 and found itself hitting the $1 million mark in its fourth weekend out. The Noel Coward adaptation grossed another $323,000, averaging $3,589, and bringing its total to $1,028,000.

Gary Hustwit’s “Objectified,” which took its standing grossing to $170,162 thanks to an expansion to the Cinema du Parc in Montreal and one-night screenings in Seattle, Portland and Tulsa.

And finally, IFC’s “Summer Hours” hit 50 screens, grossing another $125,000 and inching toward that million dollar mark. Olivier Assayas’ French import has now grossed $965,000.

indieWIRE:BOT tracks independent/specialty releases compiled from Rentrak Theatrical, which collects studio reported data as well as box-office figures from North American theatre locations. To be included in the indieWIRE Box Office Chart, distributors must submit information about their films to Rentrak at studiogrosses@rentrak.com  by the end of the day each Monday.