Per Theater Chart: Under Over Everyone Else

April 8, 2014

Under the Skin opened surprisingly well with a per theater average of $33,289 in four theaters. This is the second best opening per theater average for any film released in 2014, well back of The Grand Budapest Hotel's record-breaking debut. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall box office leader, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which earned an average of $24,130 in nearly 4,000 theaters.

There were plenty of other new limited releases, some of which did better than expected. Dom Hemingway earned an average of $7,319 in four theaters, which is even more impressive given it was released on Blu-ray on Tuesday. Flex is Kings opened with $5,418 in its lone theater, while a fellow documentary, The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden, was right behind with $5,185, also in one theater. Island-of-Lemurs-Madagascar opened in 37 IMAX theaters earning an average of $5,089, which is a solid debut. Ilo Ilo and Alan Partridge were a little softer with averages of $4,388 in two theaters and $4,221 in three theaters respectively. Watermark earned an average of $4,006 in two theaters, which is relatively good for a documentary.

There were still more new releases this week, with The Unknown Known only managing an average of $3,573 in 18 theaters. This isn't terrible, but it isn't that great either. 9-Month Stretch opened in ten theaters with an average of $3,382. Nymphomaniac: Volume Two struggled with an average of $2,334 in 34 theaters. Given the hype, it should have performed better than this. Main Tera Hero opened in 77 theaters, which is not too many for a Bollywood film, but only managed an average of $2,109. Despite earning excellent reviews, Afflicted missed the Mendoza Line with an average of $1,578 in 44 Alien Abduction was even worse with an average of $809 in 13 theaters. Finally, we get to Jinn, which opened in 201 theaters earning an average of $743.

This past week also saw milestones reached for a couple of Per Theater Chart alumni:

• The Lunchbox reached $1 million just before the weekend and should have no trouble getting to $2 million shortly.
• Cesar Chavez reached $3 million before the weekend and hit $4 million over the weekend.
• Likewise, Bad Words got to $5 million over the weekend, but that's as far as it will go.
• The Wind Rises rose to $5 million. That's good for an Anime.
• As expected, The Grand Budapest Hotel topped $30 million over the weekend and will reach $35 million during the week. It has now made more than Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones and by this time next week it should be ahead of Need for Speed.

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Theater Averages, Under the Skin, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Need for Speed, Jinn, Bad Words, Dom Hemingway, Alan Partridge, The Lunchbox, The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ), Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, Watermark, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Unknown Known, Cesar Chavez, Nymphomaniac: Volume II, The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden, Afflicted, Alien Abduction, Flex is Kings, Ilo Ilo, 9 mois ferme, Main Tera Hero