White Irish Drinkers (2011)

White Irish Drinkers poster
Theatrical Performance
Domestic Box Office $31,056Details
Further financial details...

Synopsis

It's early autumn of 1975 in Brooklyn and 18-year old Brian Leary is killing time, pulling off petty crimes with his street tough older brother Danny, whom he both idolizes and fears. He doesn’t really want to be a criminal, but he doesn't share the dreams of his old friends from their working class neighborhood either. They all yearn for the culturally-approved 9-5 Civil Service jobs with benefit packages that will carry them through weekends of beer into lazy retirement. Brian doesn't want to end up in a soul numbing job like his buddies, but he's sure he doesn't want to be like his best friend Todd either. Todd has betrayed their blue-collar roots by accepting a scholarship to college. Brian has a secret -- he's a talented artist. In the basement of the bagel shop beneath his parent's apartment, he creates impressionistic charcoal and watercolor images of the stifling city that surrounds him. When he puts on his headphones and paints, shouting matches between Brian's longshoreman father Paddy and world-weary mother fade into the distance. But even his private world can't block out the brutal beatings a drunken Paddy inflicts on Danny. Though Paddy has never been physically abusive to Brian, every time he sees his brother's suffering, his heart breaks a little more. Besides his art, Brian finds respite in working for Whitey, a kindly curmudgeon who runs the failing Lafayette movie theater in Bay Ridge. Brian's been helping Whitey pay his debts to local mobster Jimmy Cheeks by bringing in rock groups to play gigs at the theater. With money problems mounting, Whitey decides to call in a lifelong favor from an old friend, now the tour manager of the Rolling Stones. The Stones will stop to play the Lafayette for one hour only on their way to Madison Square Garden...a plan Whitey hopes will solve his loan shark problems forever. The small Brooklyn neighborhood buzzes with anticipation of the Stones' arrival, which gives Brian the courage to talk to pretty Shauna Friel, the girl he was too shy to approach in high school. Shauna, a travel agent, is awaiting transfer to a glamorous new job in Los Angeles, and dreams of traveling the world before she's 25. She and one of Brian's other friends, the college-bound Todd, begin to plant new seeds of hope in Brian's doubtful mind. Perhaps his art could be a ticket for him out of his dead end life and into a future of possibilities. When one excessively violent beating from Paddy convinces Danny he can't stay at home anymore, he tries to enlist Brian in one last scheme - to rob the Lafayette on the night of the Rolling Stones concert. Danny sees this as their only chance to get enough money to skip town and start them both off in a new life, somewhere far away from Brooklyn. As the theater fills with revelers, Brian is torn between his love and loyalty to Danny and his real fondness for Whitey. In the twists and turns that follow, both brothers must reexamine their dreams, and make decisions that will change their lives forever.

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$16,836 (54.2% of total gross)
Legs:1.84 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:100.0% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Theater counts:5 opening theaters/5 max. theaters, 1.6 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $42,214

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists


Watch Now On

Amazon VOD:Amazon

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: March 25th, 2011 (Limited) by IFC Films, released as White Irish Drinkers
Video Release: July 12th, 2011 by Screen Media/Universal
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language, some sexuality and violence.
(Rating bulletin 2159, 2/16/2011)
Running Time: 109 minutes
Comparisons: Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Delayed Adulthood, Dysfunctional Family, Coming of Age, Heist, Addiction
Source:Original Screenplay
Genre:Drama
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Historical Fiction
Production/Financing Companies: Bernard/Scura Prods
Production Countries: United States
Languages: English

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 25, 2011 69 $16,836   5 $3,367   $16,836 1
Apr 29, 2011 107 $496   1 $496   $29,761 6
May 6, 2011 115 $1,049 +111% 2 $525   $31,056 7

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 25, 2011 74 $16,836   5 $3,367   $16,836 1
Apr 29, 2011 113 $496   1 $496   $29,761 6
May 6, 2011 122 $1,049 +111% 2 $525   $31,056 7

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.

Leading Cast

Nick Thurston    Brian Leary
Geoffrey Wigdor    Danny

Supporting Cast

Karen Allen    Margaret
Stephen Lang    Paddy
Peter Riegert    Whitey
Leslie Murphy    Shauna
Zachary Booth    Todd
Ken Jennings    Jimmy

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

John Gray    Producer
Melissa Jo Peltier    Producer
Paul Bernard    Producer
James Scura    Producer
John Gray    Director
John Gray    Screenwriter

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for July 12th, 2011

July 11th, 2011

After one of the worst weeks on the home market I've seen, there's an uptick of first run releases this week. This includes the first release of 2011 to reach $100 million at the box office, Rango. However, that film doesn't hit the home market till Friday, so this Tuesday is even weaker. There are a few other midlevel releases coming out this week to bolster the overall strength of the market, but while it is better than most third quarter offerings, I'm still itching for the fall to start. As for the best release of the week, Rango's Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack is the clear winner there and it is our Pick of the Week. More...

Per Theater Chart was Full of Win

March 30th, 2011

Seven films topped the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this week, but leading the way were last week's top two films: Bill Cunningham New York and Win Win. The former earned $21,786 in 3 theaters while the latter was right behind with $20,192 in 23. My Perestroika earned $17,680 in its lone theater over the weekend and $25,084 since its Wednesday opening. Mia and the Migoo and Miral were neck-and-neck at $16,975 and $16,561. They also share something else, bad reviews, so their futures are in doubt. Trophy Wife earned an average of $12,288 in seven theaters. Finally, Jane Eyre made nearly $1 million over the weekend in 90 theaters for an average of $10,778. More...

Will We Hear a Peep from Limited Releases?

March 25th, 2011

There are plenty of limited releases to talk about this week, including a few that were earning better than average buzz either due to their cast or their directors, or both. However, in a couple of cases, the buzz did not translate into strong reviews, so either these releases will have to overcome their poor reviews, or we will need one of the lesser known limited releases to have breakout success. More...


  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Box Office
  4. International
  5. Video Sales
  6. Full Financials
  7. Cast & Crew
  8. Trailer

Synopsis

It's early autumn of 1975 in Brooklyn and 18-year old Brian Leary is killing time, pulling off petty crimes with his street tough older brother Danny, whom he both idolizes and fears. He doesn’t really want to be a criminal, but he doesn't share the dreams of his old friends from their working class neighborhood either. They all yearn for the culturally-approved 9-5 Civil Service jobs with benefit packages that will carry them through weekends of beer into lazy retirement. Brian doesn't want to end up in a soul numbing job like his buddies, but he's sure he doesn't want to be like his best friend Todd either. Todd has betrayed their blue-collar roots by accepting a scholarship to college. Brian has a secret -- he's a talented artist. In the basement of the bagel shop beneath his parent's apartment, he creates impressionistic charcoal and watercolor images of the stifling city that surrounds him. When he puts on his headphones and paints, shouting matches between Brian's longshoreman father Paddy and world-weary mother fade into the distance. But even his private world can't block out the brutal beatings a drunken Paddy inflicts on Danny. Though Paddy has never been physically abusive to Brian, every time he sees his brother's suffering, his heart breaks a little more. Besides his art, Brian finds respite in working for Whitey, a kindly curmudgeon who runs the failing Lafayette movie theater in Bay Ridge. Brian's been helping Whitey pay his debts to local mobster Jimmy Cheeks by bringing in rock groups to play gigs at the theater. With money problems mounting, Whitey decides to call in a lifelong favor from an old friend, now the tour manager of the Rolling Stones. The Stones will stop to play the Lafayette for one hour only on their way to Madison Square Garden...a plan Whitey hopes will solve his loan shark problems forever. The small Brooklyn neighborhood buzzes with anticipation of the Stones' arrival, which gives Brian the courage to talk to pretty Shauna Friel, the girl he was too shy to approach in high school. Shauna, a travel agent, is awaiting transfer to a glamorous new job in Los Angeles, and dreams of traveling the world before she's 25. She and one of Brian's other friends, the college-bound Todd, begin to plant new seeds of hope in Brian's doubtful mind. Perhaps his art could be a ticket for him out of his dead end life and into a future of possibilities. When one excessively violent beating from Paddy convinces Danny he can't stay at home anymore, he tries to enlist Brian in one last scheme - to rob the Lafayette on the night of the Rolling Stones concert. Danny sees this as their only chance to get enough money to skip town and start them both off in a new life, somewhere far away from Brooklyn. As the theater fills with revelers, Brian is torn between his love and loyalty to Danny and his real fondness for Whitey. In the twists and turns that follow, both brothers must reexamine their dreams, and make decisions that will change their lives forever.

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$16,836 (54.2% of total gross)
Legs:1.84 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:100.0% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Theater counts:5 opening theaters/5 max. theaters, 1.6 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $42,214

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists


Watch Now On

Amazon VOD:Amazon

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: March 25th, 2011 (Limited) by IFC Films, released as White Irish Drinkers
Video Release: July 12th, 2011 by Screen Media/Universal
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language, some sexuality and violence.
(Rating bulletin 2159, 2/16/2011)
Running Time: 109 minutes
Comparisons: Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Delayed Adulthood, Dysfunctional Family, Coming of Age, Heist, Addiction
Source:Original Screenplay
Genre:Drama
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Historical Fiction
Production/Financing Companies: Bernard/Scura Prods
Production Countries: United States
Languages: English

Leading Cast

Nick Thurston    Brian Leary
Geoffrey Wigdor    Danny

Supporting Cast

Karen Allen    Margaret
Stephen Lang    Paddy
Peter Riegert    Whitey
Leslie Murphy    Shauna
Zachary Booth    Todd
Ken Jennings    Jimmy

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

John Gray    Producer
Melissa Jo Peltier    Producer
Paul Bernard    Producer
James Scura    Producer
John Gray    Director
John Gray    Screenwriter

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for July 12th, 2011

July 11th, 2011

After one of the worst weeks on the home market I've seen, there's an uptick of first run releases this week. This includes the first release of 2011 to reach $100 million at the box office, Rango. However, that film doesn't hit the home market till Friday, so this Tuesday is even weaker. There are a few other midlevel releases coming out this week to bolster the overall strength of the market, but while it is better than most third quarter offerings, I'm still itching for the fall to start. As for the best release of the week, Rango's Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack is the clear winner there and it is our Pick of the Week. More...

Per Theater Chart was Full of Win

March 30th, 2011

Seven films topped the $10,000 mark on the per theater chart this week, but leading the way were last week's top two films: Bill Cunningham New York and Win Win. The former earned $21,786 in 3 theaters while the latter was right behind with $20,192 in 23. My Perestroika earned $17,680 in its lone theater over the weekend and $25,084 since its Wednesday opening. Mia and the Migoo and Miral were neck-and-neck at $16,975 and $16,561. They also share something else, bad reviews, so their futures are in doubt. Trophy Wife earned an average of $12,288 in seven theaters. Finally, Jane Eyre made nearly $1 million over the weekend in 90 theaters for an average of $10,778. More...

Will We Hear a Peep from Limited Releases?

March 25th, 2011

There are plenty of limited releases to talk about this week, including a few that were earning better than average buzz either due to their cast or their directors, or both. However, in a couple of cases, the buzz did not translate into strong reviews, so either these releases will have to overcome their poor reviews, or we will need one of the lesser known limited releases to have breakout success. More...

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 25, 2011 69 $16,836   5 $3,367   $16,836 1
Apr 29, 2011 107 $496   1 $496   $29,761 6
May 6, 2011 115 $1,049 +111% 2 $525   $31,056 7

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Mar 25, 2011 74 $16,836   5 $3,367   $16,836 1
Apr 29, 2011 113 $496   1 $496   $29,761 6
May 6, 2011 122 $1,049 +111% 2 $525   $31,056 7

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.