Specialty Box Office: 'Hysteria' and 'Elena' Lead Debuts as 'Marigold Hotel' Stays Open For Business

As "The Avengers" continued to dominate the overall box office and most of the industry was busy in Cannes, Fox Searchlight continued to find fantastic numbers from the first major indie breakout of 2012, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."

The film was certainly the specialty story of the weekend, which also saw a group of films debut to generally underwhelming numbers, including "Hysteria," "Elena," "Polisse," "American Animal" and "Virginia"

Check out the full rundown below.

The Debuts:

"Hysteria" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Tanya Wexler's Victorian era romantic comedy (about the invention of the vibrator) debuted on 5 screens this weekend for Sony Pictures Classics. Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Felicity Jones and Rupert Everett, the film managed a so-so $40,829 gross, averaging $8,166.

"Polisse" (Sundance Selects)
A year after debuting at the Cannes Film Festival, French import "Polisse" hit 3 screens in New York and LA care of Sundance Selects.  Directed by Maïwenn, the film centers on the Child Protection Unit in Paris, and a photographer who is assigned to cover the unit.  It took in $17,680 over the weekend for a an underwhelming per-theater-average of $5,893.

"Elena" (Zeitgeist Films)
Another Cannes 2011 debut, Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Elena" ended up with the weekend's best per theater average and arguably the most impressive debut.  On a single screen, the film grossed a very respectable $9,393 adding to a $13,598 cume since opening Wednesday. Though clearly aided by only being on one screen, that made for the second highest average of any film in release (after "The Avengers").

"American Animal" (Screen Media)
Also making a single screen debut, Matt D'Elia's SXSW alum "American Animal" took in $6,000. The film will open select additional markets over the next month.

"Virginia" (E One)
Dustin Lance Black's long-delayed "Virginia" -- re-cut significantly from what was screened at the Toronto Film Festival back in 2010 -- debuted on 5 screens this weekend. Starring Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris, the film did not fare very well. Taking in $6,311, "Virginia" averaged only $1,262 per theater.

For a report on over a dozen holdover releases, including "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "Girl in Progress," "Bernie" and "First Position," continue to the next page.