The big indies are out in force in a crowded market on another strong weekend for ticket sales with the domestic box office now up 26% versus 2024, according to Comscore. Neon is trying something new for the edgy brand with The Life Of Chuck. The Phoenician Scheme from Focus Features jumps to wide release. A24 and IFC have have horror films, and they’re all vying with big studio releases and some smaller independents.
“People are seeing a lot of different kinds of films,” said one distribution exec.
Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme is at no. 6 at the box office with an estimated $6.25 million weekend and a $7 million cume in a major week 2 expansion to 1,678 screens. The film starring Benicio del Toro clocked the best limited opening and per screen average of 2025 last week at 16 locations.
Anderson’s Asteroid City set the best PSA opening record in some time almost exactly two years ago in June of 2023 with a wide break on the same number of screens, expanding to $9 million in a less competitive market.
The audience for The Phoenician Scheme was 56% male and it skewed young with 59% at 18-34. General audience reaction scores are very good with fans likely to keep word of mouth going in coming weeks.
LA was the top market on Friday and Saturday with 9.6% followed by New York with 8.3% and San Francisco with 4.6%. Best numbers for the weekend are coming from Alamo Drafthouse theaters, with 7.5% of the film’s weekend gross, about 4 times its normal market share, as well as top arthouses nationwide.
The Life Of Chuck from Neon opened to $216k on 16 screens ahead of a nationwide rollout on about 1,000 next weekend, driven by fans of the label, of director Mike Flanagan, of master storyteller Stephen King and a sprinkling of faith-adjacent if not faith-based marketing across the religious spectrum. The label is looking for strong word of mouth to drive audiences nationwide as it expands.
The winner of the TIFF People’s Choice Award explores a vast topic, what it means to be human, told through the mystical lens of small town accountant Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz from the King novella, It’s a complicated story, told in reverse, but poignant and uplifting too. Neon is banking on that fact that people seem to really like it when then see it. How much will become clearer next weekend.
Flanagan (The Haunting Of Hill House), is known for his adaptations of King’s work. He is said to be working closely with the writer on a long-gestating adaptation of the Dark Tower series.
New York and LA are the top DMAs this weekend for the film, which also stars Mark Hamill, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay and Benjamin Pajak. It also played Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Phoenix and the Alamo Drafthouse Austin, which had great numbers with screenings honoring Austin-based journalist and co-host of the Kingcast podcast, Scott Wampler, who passed away May 31.
A24’s wide horror Bring Her Back from Danny and Michael Philippou (Talk To Me) was no. 7 in week 2 on 2,425 screens with a $3.5 million weekend and $14.1 million cume.
GKids’ Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye — a feature-length program from the previous and upcoming seasons of the popular anime series DAN DA DAN and interviews with directors Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Góngora – was no. 8 with an estimated $3.1 million opening at 1,085 theaters.
Shark horror Dangerous Animals from IFC Films bit off $1.54 million opening weekend on 1,636 theaters.
I Don’t Understand You from Vertical debuted to $164.2k on 253 screens.
Abramorama documentary The Last Twins opened to $5.3k at one run, the Quad in NYC. The distributor said it’s looking at a weekly estimate of $10.3k.
Holdover: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life from Sony Pictures Classics is at an estimated $190.2k for the weekend on 291 screens for a cume of $1.4 million in week 3.