Ari Aster’s surreal odyssey Beau Is Afraid gets A24’s best limited opening since Uncut Gems – Box Office Special

Beau is scared posted its highest per-screen average of the year so far and the best limited opening for distributor A24 since Unpolished gems, which grossed an estimated $320,396 at four locations in New York and LA, a whopping $80,000 per screen average with sold-out shows on both coasts. (Unpolished gems starring Adam Sandler had a PSA of $105,000 across five screens in 2019 — a limited opening record at the time.)

Inside Ari Aster’s surreal black comedy horror NiceJoaquin Phoenix is ​​a mild-mannered, paranoid man who faces his worst fears on an epic journey to his hometown for his mother’s funeral. Pre-sales looked good and the numbers definitely hit the mark for the distributor and director, loved by fans of his previous films heir to the throne And midsummer. The cast includes Nathan Lane, Amy, Ryan, Parker Posey and Patti LuPone. Expanding to a local Imax event on April 18 before a nationwide launch on April 21.

Weekend: Friday: $141,091; Sat $100,733; Sunday, $78,396.

Other special editions: wild life by Picturehouse and National Geographic Documentary Films grossed more than $46,000 on two screens — Angelika Film Center/NYC and Angelika Pop-Up/DC — for the weekend’s second-biggest PTA of $23,359. The film by directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Meru, Free Solo, the rescue) premiered at Telluride, screened at SXSW and played this week to a young demo that includes environmentalist and outdoor enthusiast following climber and director Chin. The film’s subject, conservationist Kris Tomkins, appeared in Q&AS with directors.

Kristoffer Borgli’s satire Utopia opened Cannes and Fantastic Fest sick of me in NY/LA with sold-out shows at the IFC Center and Nuart for $10,106 PSA and an estimated $20,212 gross. With Borgli and guests including Kate Berlant, Screen Slate founder Jon Dierenger and comedian Jeremy Levick. With strong RT results and support from John Waters, Ari Aster, Michael Cera and Bret Easton Ellis, the film’s audience is growing with support from Letterboxd, Mubi Go, Vimeo, streetwear brand Praying, exhibitors Alamo and Landmark and a social The campaign is also targeting a millennial audience on Instagram (the platform satirized in the film about a young woman who fakes an illness to gain sympathy and woo her boyfriend). A few more dates, including Chicago and Alamo’s Fantastic Fest Presents, lead to further expansion on 4/28.

Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber opened animation for adults Sleeping woman of the blind willow on two screens, New York’s Film Forum and Laemmle’s Royal, with an estimated three-day gross of $7,400.The Film Forum main event sold out Saturday for a Q&A with filmmaker Pierre Foldes.

Broader exemptions: Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures’ suzume is looking back at a $5 million opening weekend at 2,170 locations, including Imax and premium wide format. Makoto Shinkai’s original anime film is 95% critic and 98% viewer certified on Rotten Tomatoes and has a 5-star rating on PostTrak. It is the latest theatrical release for Crunchyroll, distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment in North America, and the most comprehensive premiere for director Shinkai. NO. 7 at the local box office. Friday, $2.15 million; Sat $1.64 million; Sun. $1.2 million predicted. NO. 7 at the local box office.

Mysterious doors unleash a supernatural destructive force that threatens Japan as a determined teenager, Suzume, tries to close them and save her country from disaster.

Mafia Mom of Bleecker Street will earn an opening of more than $2 million across 2,002 screens for a weekend PSA of $1,021. it’s no 8 this weekend. Fri $866,940; Sat $692,903; Sun. $485,032. Toni Colletee is an insecure American who inherits her grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy and defies expectations under the guidance of the clan’s trusted consigliere, Monica Bellucci.

Faith-based horror film shameful grossed an estimated $1.4 million across 933 screens. Directed by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, produced by their Believe Entertainment and distributed by their subsidiary Soli Deo Gloria Releasing. On the day of his scheduled execution, a convicted serial killer will undergo a psychiatric evaluation that claims he is a demon, and the psychiatrist himself will commit three murders. About 10^e place at the local box office. Fri $505,000; Sat $470,000; Sun. $355,000. PSA-$1,426. The film has 25% critics on RT (five ratings), but 97% among audiences (250 ratings).

Published by Briarcliff Entertainment Fresh water Earned $350,000 from 1,204 locations. Directed by Martin Guigui, Everett Osborne stars as Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, who rose to fame with the Harlem Globetrotters and was the first African-American to sign with the NBA. It stars Cary Elwes as Knicks director Ned Irish, Jeremy Piven as coach Joe Lapchick and Richard Dreyfuss as NBA president Maurice Podoloff. Fri $125,000; Sat $130,000; Sunday $95,000.