Mid-Year Report: Specialty Box Office Winners & Losers

A scene from Duncan Jones’ “Moon.” Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Winner: Films Starring Sam Rockwell and Sam Rockwell

Sony Classics went into essentially unchartered waters with Duncan Jones’ “Moon.” The terms “sci-fi” and “indie” haven’t often been joined together, with a rare (and arguable) example in Danny Boyle’s 2007 “Sunshine,” which cost $50 million and grossed less than $4 million.  But “Moon” - starring Sam Rockwell in dual roles - is an indie in a truer sense.  A Sundance pickup, it cost only $5 million to make, and with its expansion going quite smoothly, its possible the film could approach its budget, out-grossing “Sunshine” en route.

Loser: Films Starring Zooey Deschanel and Paul Dano

Indie darlings they might be, but Zooey Deschanel and Paul Dano had a rough go at it with “Gigantic,” First Independent Pictures’ Toronto pickup.  After a somewhat decent debut ($10,294 on one screen), the film crashed and burned in expansion, ending up with a final tally of just $102,704.  Hopefully Deschanel and Dano will fair better later this summer with Fox Searchlight’s “(500) Days of Summer” and Focus Features’ “Taking Woodstock.”

Winner: Iraq War Movies

Well, Iraq War movie. After years and years of films focusing on the Iraq War - from “In The Valley of Elah” to “Stop-Loss” to “Redacted” - failing to find an audience, most had given up on the idea of a financially successful film set in Iraq. And while it might be a bit too early to officially announce this very event, it seems fantastic reviews and a plot that focuses less directly on the political or social themes of the war and more on a deadly game of urban combat, has helped Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” kick the losing streak.  The film opened to a stellar $36,338 average - the year’s second best behind “Sunshine Cleaning,” and has grossed $370,123 in its first two weeks of very limited release. 

Loser: Nia Vardalos Movies

Seven years after “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” became what will likely be considered the indie hit of the decade, Nia Vardalos is having a rough go at it. In June, Fox Searchlight’s “My Life In Ruins” tried to go wide against some big summer guns and failed, grossing only $8.3 million (which, at least, is $200,000 more than 2004’s “Connie and Carla”). Then last weekend, IFC Films released Vardalos’ reunion with “Big Fat” co-star John Corbett, “I Hate Valentine’s Day,” which grossed just $5,009 from 3 screens (though the film is said to be doing great business on VOD).

A scene from “Coraline.” image courtesy of Focus Features.

Winner: Endgame Entertainment and Big Beach Films

Endgame Entertainment head James D. Stern, who last month delivered an inspiring speech at LAFF that called for “smarter movies”, has certainly shown he can make profitable movies in Endgame’s three ‘09 releases: “Every Little Step,” which Stern also co-directed, is one of the year’s highest grossing docs at $1.4 million, while “Easy Virtue” and “The Brothers Bloom” are among the few releases to gross more than $2 million dollars - with totals standing at $2.3 million and $3.3 million, respectively.

Big Beach Films pulled off an even more impressive hat trick in its 2009 slate. The company produced both “Sunshine Cleaning” and “Away We Go” - the year’s two biggest specialty hits, and found a sleeper in “Is Anybody There?,” which has totaled over $2 million.

Loser: Senator Entertainment

Not to kick someone when they’re already down, but Senator Entertainment, which recently closed its distribution arm, is not having a good 2009. Its sole release, washed-up-star-studded “The Informers,” tanked, averaging only $622 from its 482 theater-wide opening. The film only lasted one week in theaters, grossing roughly $300,000.  Since its unclear how the rest of the company’s slate - which includes Sundance pickup “Brooklyn’s Finest” - will be released, its likely “The Informers” will stand as the distribution arm’s lone release.

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