A24’s I Saw The TV Glow beamed out one of the best limited openings of the year as the specialty market shows signs of life after a dreary April.
The ‘90s era trans coming-of-age horror-thriller grossed $116.3k at four theaters in New York and LA for a per screen average of $29k for Jane Schoenbrun. It’s the helmer’s second outing after We’re All Going To The World’s Fair established them as an edgy new voice. The film, which premiered at Sundance, saw multiple sold-out Q&As over the weekend with strong reviews and exit polls. Expands into selected top markets this weekend with a continued rollout to follow.
Produced by Emma Stone under her Fruit Tree Banner, it follows a teenager named Owen (Justice Smith) trying to make it through life in the suburbs. The weirdness starts when his older classmate (Brigette Lundy-Paine) introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show, a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.
Oscilloscope’s Telluride-premiering Wildcat, directed an co-written by Ethan Hawke and starring Maya Hawke as Flannery O’Conner, also had a nice opening with an estimated $58.1k on four screens in NY/LA, with sold-out showtimes over the weekend. The PSA of $19.4k was buoyed by strong engagement from key talent and a targeted marketing campaign.
The life of literary icon Flannery O’Connor, which flits between her reality and her stories, also stars Laura Linney, Cooper Hoffman and Steve Zahn. The film rolls out to select markets through May.
And Sideshow/Janus Films’ release of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist is seeing an estimated $43.3k on three screens (Film Forum, Film at Lincoln Center in NYC and AMC The Grove in LA), for a $15k per-screen average. Life is disrupted for a father and daughter and the rest of a rural hamlet outside Tokyo when developers come in to build a opulent glamping site nearby. Expands to top 10 markets next weekend and to over 200 theaters by 5/24.
GKIDS animated sci-fi Mars Express had a rough debut with $95.7k on 250 screens.
Holdovers, all interesting, include Sony Pictures Classics We Grown Now at $17k on 70 screens (down from 340) for a cume of $254k; Cohen Media Group’s Nowhere Special with James Norton, by Uberto Pasolini, at $31k in 31 theaters for a $48k cume, expanding next week; and Cindy Cronenberg’s Humane from IFC Films with a $3.5k weekend at 41 theaters and a $40k cume.