The specialty box office saw several films try to carve out a niche for themselves during the holiday weekend, including Searchlight’s “All of Us Strangers,” Andrew Haigh’s dreamlike LGBTQ romance that earned $132,156 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles.
That gives the film an average of just over $33,000, consistent with limited release opening averages for films like MGM’s “American Fiction” ($32,067) and A24’s “The Zone of Interest” ($32,483).
Premiering at Telluride, “All of Us Strangers” is a ghost story that tells the tale of a gay, struggling screenwriter named Adam who falls in love with the one other resident of his apartment building after initially rejecting him. As their relationship builds, Adam also visits the ghosts of his parents, who died in a car crash when he was 12. Along with critical acclaim, audiences in New York and Los Angeles have given the film strong marks with an A- on CinemaScore.
Searchlight’s other December release, “Poor Things,” will add an estimated $3 million from 800 theaters during the 4-day Christmas weekend, giving it a running total of $6 million. GKIDS/Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron” is adding $3.8 million in its third weekend, giving it a total of $31.2 million.
Toho/Emick Media’s “Godzilla Minus One” is adding an estimated $3.2 million over the 4-day weekend for a running total of $40.8 million, while in limited release, MGM’s “American Fiction” grossed $418,000 from 40 theaters for a total of $878,000 as it plans to expand further in January.
On Christmas Day, Neon will release the Michael Mann biopic “Ferrari,” starring Adam Driver as the famed car legend Enzo Ferrari and Penelope Cruz as his estranged wife, Laura. The film was noted for being one of the first prominent films premiering on the fall film festival circuit to be approved for SAG-AFTRA’s interim agreement, allowing Driver and Cruz to attend the film’s Venice premiere during the actors strike. The film has received generally positive reviews with a 75% Rotten Tomatoes score.
