‘Operation Red Sea’ Tops Newcomers; ’The Shape of Water’ Crosses $55M – Specialty Box Office

February 25, 2018

Thriller debuts were ubiquitous this weekend among the Specialties, and China’s Operation Red Sea took the highest gross, taking in $510K in 45 theaters. The Orchard communed The Young Karl Marx in a trio of runs this weekend taking in a decent gross of $28,599. Other openers included Oscilloscope’s November in an exclusive run with $4,300 and IFC Films’ sci-fi thriller The Cured with Ellen Page in three locations landing at $5,332. Sony Pictures Classics widened Russian Oscar nominee Loveless in its second round, grossing $65,457. French erotic romance Double Lover narrowed in its second frame, grossing $21,369 in 22 locations, while Roadside’s The Party expanded to 30 runs, grossing $100,715. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri crossed $50M marking its fourth month in release, but still ahead in the box office is Searchlight’s The Shape of Water, crossing $55M.

Chinese thriller Operation Red Sea debuted in 45 theaters over the weekend, doing a decent run in its debut. Directed by Dante Lam, the action-thriller grossed $510K, averaging $11,333, the best per theater average among the specialty debuts. Distributor Well Go USA touted its launch, which outranked last weekend’s Detective Chinatown 2 when comparing straight averages, though that film played 115 runs in its debut.

“Operation Red Sea has been met with wild audience acclaim and sold-out showings all weekend, with major theaters such as AMC’s Empire 25, Metreon 16, and Boston Common selling out all shows for the entire day on Saturday,” the company noted Sunday. Theaters will be added across the country next weekend. Well Go USA said they are eyeing a repeat of our success with action hits Wolf Warrior 2 ($2.72m) and Ip Man 3 ($2.68m).

The Young Karl Marx cashed in somewhat in three locations Friday to Sunday though more tepid than the filmmaker’s previous feature, which was one of the highest grossing documentaries of last year. Director Raoul Peck took a narrative turn with his latest, which stars August Diehl and Stefan Konarske as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

“We are thrilled to see that enthusiastic audiences came out in droves for Raoul Peck’s The Young Karl Marx — driving multiple sellouts for regular and Q&A events… exhibiting full runs of the film. We greatly appreciate Raoul’s Q&A appearances this weekend and look forward to bringing this fantastic film to audiences across the country over the coming month.”

SPC expanded Loveless to a dozen locations in its second frame, grossing $65,457. The Russian Oscar nominee averaged $5,455 in 12 theaters, the best among the second weekend holdovers, brining its cume to $131,969. In its debut, the feature grossed $30,950 in 3 theaters, averaging $10,317.

Cohen Media Group’s Double Lover retracted runs in its second weekend, grossing $21,369 in 22 theaters for a $971 average. The François Ozon erotic thriller opened in 48 theaters last weekend, grossing $69,176 for a slight $1,442 PTA.

Roadside expanded Sally Potter’s The Party with Timothy Spall, Kristin Scott Thomas and Patricia Clarkson to 30 runs in its second outing. The black and white feature grossed $100,715 averaging $3,357. It opened in 3 locations last weekend, grossing $36,344 Friday to Sunday, averaging $12,111.

This year’s crop of Oscar-Nominated Short Films are closing in on last year’s cume. Over the weekend, 2018 Oscar-Nominated Short Films grossed $450K in 230 theaters, averaging $1,957 brining its total to over $2.59M. Last year’s shorts group had a cumulative of just over $2.8M.

Sony Classics added 49 runs for A Fantastic Woman in its one month marker, grossing over $162K in a total of 78 locations. The feature averaged $2,081, down 30% from last weekend’s $2,980 PTA in 29 theaters. It has cumed over $589K.

The Oscar heavyweights are still drawing crowds as the awards approach next weekend. Golden Globes winner Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri went over $50M in its fourth month this weekend. The Searchlight feature grossed over $1.22M in 691 locations, averaging $1,773.

The Shape of Water still holds the highest gross among the limited release Oscar-noms for Best Picture. The feature by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Guillermo del Toro took in $1.11M in 721 locations over the weekend, averaging $1,546 brining its cume to $55.3M.

On its heels is Focus Features’ Darkest Hour, which grossed $775 in 795 theaters ($972 average). The title starring Oscar-nominated Gary Oldman has cured $54,495,000.

NEW RELEASES

The Cured (IFC Films) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $5,332, Average $1,777

November (Oscilloscope) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $4,300

Operation Red Sea (Well Go USA) NEW [45 Theaters] Weekend $510,000, Average $11,333

The Young Karl Marx (The Orchard) NEW [3 Theaters] Weekend $28,599, Average $9,533

RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND

Double Lover (Cohen Media Group) Week 2 [22 Theaters] Weekend $21,369, Average $971, Cume $139,869

Loveless (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 2 [12 Theaters] Weekend $65,457, Average $5,455, Cume $131,969

Nostalgia (Bleecker Street) Week 2 [16 Theaters] Weekend $15,510, Average $969, Cume $35,248

The Party (Roadside Attractions) Week 2 [30 Theaters] Weekend $100,715, Average $3,357, Cume $154,186

HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS

2018 Oscar-Nominated Short Films (ShortsTV/Magnolia Pictures) Week 3 [230 Theaters] Weekend $450,000, Average $1,957, Cume $2,596,280

La Boda de Valentina (Pantelion/Lionsgate) Week 3 [141 Theaters] Weekend $230,000, Average $1,631, Cume $2,509,634

A Fantastic Woman (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4 [78 Theaters] Weekend $162,336, Average $2,081, Cume $589,415

Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (Vertical Entertainment) Week 4 [ Theaters] Weekend $, Average $, Cume $589,415

Forever My Girl (Roadside Attractions) Week 6 [218 Theaters] Weekend $172,705, Average $792, Cume $16,034,173

The Insult (Cohen Media Group) Week 7 [50 Theaters] Weekend $76,160, Average $1,523, Cume $762,061

Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9 [107 Theaters] Weekend $76,611, Average $751, Cume $702,483

Phantom Thread (Focus Features) Week 10 [651 Theaters] Weekend $595,000, Average $917, Cume $18,747,000

I, Tonya (Neon/30West) Week 12 [423 Theaters] Weekend $580,640, Average $1,373, Cume $28,094,418

The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight) Week 13 [721 Theaters] Weekend $1,115,000, Average $1,546, Cume $55,300,844

Call Me By Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 14 [675 Theaters] Weekend $552,141, Average $818, Cume $15,793,051

Darkest Hour (Focus Features) Week 14 [795 Theaters] Weekend $775,000, Average $972, Cume $54,495,000

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight) Week 16 [691 Theaters] Weekend $1,225,000 Average $1,773, Cume $50,129,579

Lady Bird (A24) Week 17 [601 Theaters] Weekend $645,320, Average $1,074, Cume $47,277,450

Faces Places (Cohen Media Group) Week 21 [16 Theaters] Weekend $15,118, Average $945, Cume $873,161

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