Bassam Tariq’s Mahershala Ali-starring TIFF favorite Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother had a strong limited opening as distributor Amazon MGM launched the awards contender into a platform release hewing to the path of American Fiction..
Also this weekend, A History of Concrete had a terrific expansion, as did If I Go Will They Miss Me. Late summer phenomenon Buddy is still scaring up box office.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother launched in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles to $199k ($33.1k per screen average). The awards contender by Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) is Certified Fresh at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes with strong exit polling that showed a 60% ‘excellent’ with an 89% in the top two boxes and an overall 80% ‘definite recommend.’ Ali stars as Latif, a devoutly religious hitman who struggles to balance work, faith and fatherhood. When his wife dies, he embarks on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children.
A hefty 47% of the audience for the action drama was 25–34. Some 72% is non-white with at 41% African American, 18% Hispanic, and 19% Asian.
Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) “has a unique voice” with a young cinephile audience,” says Amazon MGM Studios head of domestic theatrical distribution Kevin Wilson. “And having [Ali] as an actor is making a lot of people pay attention.”
Comps aren’t obvious but he says the best one may be 2023 multi-Oscar-winner American Fiction by Cord Jefferson, starring Jeffrey Wright. The comedy-drama had a strong limited opening ($224k) followed by a slow rollout. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother is eyeing 15 locations next week including Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Austin, playing in particular to non-white audiences who championed the movie’s debut. It will hit the top 10 to 12 markets, 30 to 40 screens, the following week, and move into moderate release Oct. 16 with 500 to 800 locations.
Platform rollouts are heavily reliant on word of mouth. “The best thing is other moviegoers telling their friends how good the film is,” Wilson says. Both Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother and American Fiction are from Amazon MGM’s Orion Pictures banner, which has had a great run under President Alana Mayo with titles from Nickel Boys and Till to Bottoms and Women Talking.
New indie releases: Ha Chan,Shake Your Booty! from Sony Pictures Classics directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka opened to $236.6k on 540 screens.
The Stunt Driver from IFC Films, by Michael Dowse starring Jay Baruchel, debuted with $102k at 670 locations.
Deep In The Heart 2: A Texas Rivers Story, directed by Ben Masters and narrated by Ethan Hawke, grossed an estimated $60k from 80 theaters across the state, as per mtuckman Media. This is a follow-up to 2022 doc Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story, narrated by Matthew McConaughey, that grossed $480k.
Janus Films presented the 4K re-release of Douglas Keeve’s UNZIPPED exclusively at the Film Forum in NYC to $24k including sold out Q&As. The doc chronicles the launch of Isaac Mizrahi’s legendary Fall 1994 collection. Expands nationwide in October.
Sumerian Pictures opened Sundance comedy The Incomer on two screens (NYC and LA), grossing an estimated $18.2k.
Greenwich Entertainment’s The Scout is eyeing a $14.5k, also at Film Forum exclusively. The debut feature from Paula González-Nasser adds LA next week.
Holdovers: John Wilson’s comedic documentary The History Of Concrete from Magnolia Pictures had a strong expansion to 50 screens (from 1), grossing an estimated $350k for a cume of $511k. Expand to over 50 markets next week.
If I Go Will They Miss Me from Rich Spirit, starring Danielle Brooks and J Alphonse Nicholson and directed by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, is reporting $158k in week 3 on 101 screens for a $758k cume. Many engagements saw higher box office this weekend over last despite fewer shows due to a rush of new releases, indicating strong word of mouth.
American Doctor from Watermelon Pictures passed the half million mark with $23k at 30 theaters. The cume to date is $556.7k for the Gaza-set documentary that opened August 14.
R-rated kids show horror satire Buddy from Roadside Attractions is looking at another $717k from 709 runs for a cume pushing $26.4 million since its August 28 opening.
Daniel And The Fiery Furnace from faith-based distributor EKKL Entertainment is reporting a $1.5 million second weekend on 1,301 screens for a $6.2 million cume.