British Indies at the Box Office

Impressively nominated for a British Independent Film Award for best feature (which rarely occurs for documentary films), Asif Kapadia's racecar driver doc "Senna" was released in the UK back in June to downright stunning numbers. On just 67 screens, the film debuted at 6th place in the overall box office, grossing $616,432 US and averaging $9,200. By October, the film had grossed over $5 million - a generally unheard of number for a doc in the UK.

"Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy"

Paddy Considine's "Tyrannosaur" - which stars Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman in powerhouse performances - debuted on 37 screens in the UK on October 7th. It grossed $127,290 that first weekend, averaging $3,440. Not an overwhelming number, but a respectable one nonetheless. Particularly for a difficult, grim film without marketable actors. The film has since pushed its gross to $364,460 without going over 39 screens. Considering the UK's population of roughly 60 million (a fifth of the United States), thats the equivalent of $1.8 million Stateside. A number US distributor Strand Releasing would be more than happy with when they release the film later this month.

A month after its release the US, Andrew Haigh's "Weekend" made its way to its setting, debuting on 10 screens in the UK last Friday. The result was the second highest per-theater-average in the country (after "The Adventures of Tintin") and a $48,949 US gross. A comparison? Miranda July's "The Future" debuted on 50% more screens the same weekend, and grossed only two thirds what "Weekend" did.

On the weekend of October 21st, Lynne Ramsay's "We Need To Talk About Kevin" debuted on 111 screens in the UK and managed to gross the equivalent of $785,526 US (or roughly 490,000 Pounds). That was strong enough to place it 7th in the overall weekend chart (despite the fact that all its competitors were playing on 3 or 4 times the screens), and gave it a $7,077 per-theater-average - the highest of any film in release save "Paranormal Activity." Three weeks later, the Brits are clearly still talking about "Kevin." Last weekend on 146 screens, the film grossed $273,949 US, bringing its total to $2.57 million US. Thats more than the remake of "Footloose" made in the same timeframe, for example, despite being on only a fraction of its screens. And more comparably, its more than 4 times what Swinton's "I Am Love" made its in entire run...

Top Ten Box Office Chart