'The Farewell' Holds 2019's Biggest Theater Average
A24
The Farewell now holds 2019’s biggest opening per-theater average dethroning Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame. Lulu Wang’s directorial debut earned approximately $351,300 opening at four theaters nationwide: AMC Lincoln Square, The Angelika Film Center & Café, ArcLight Cinemas and The Landmark averaging $87,833 per location. Endgame originally held the year’s best per-theater average at $76,601 after opening at 4,662 North American theaters.
While Wang’s film isn’t expected to hold this average as it expands to more theaters across the country, distributor A24 voiced confidence the feature will continue to thrive at the box office and pull in more audiences over time. In a statement last Sunday from Deadline, the indie studio stated: “Lulu Wang’s touching, heartfelt and hilarious ode to family sold-out shows at all 4 opening theaters this weekend. Even a blackout on the west side of Manhattan that forced the AMC Lincoln Square to close its doors Saturday night couldn’t stop The Farewell from having the highest opening per-screen average of the year. A perfect 100% from critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and featuring a fantastic ensemble, led by the incomparable Awkwafina, exit polling shows sensational word-of-mouth and universal appeal from all audiences.”
Wang also jokingly mentioned New York City’s blackout last weekend tweeting: “To everyone in NYC that is missing @thefarewell screenings cuz of the power outage, I’m sorry!!! 😭 Come over to my house and I’ll screen it. You bring the food, I’ll bring the movie.”
The Farewell may not have seen a theatrical release if Wang accepted a $15 million offer from an unnamed streaming service — a deal she turned down after a conversation with her mother who stressed the film was more than a business decision but Wang’s “baby” that deserved the best home. With her mother’s advice, Wang’s film will see a much wider theatrical run than a “streaming service” could have afforded —if said streaming service intended for a theatrical release at all.
Although plenty direct to streaming features are reaching public eye more often, such as Ali Wong’s Netflix hit Always be Maybe, Wang’s film won’t be lost in an extensive content catalog and does have a greater chance of cementing itself as one of 2019’ best titles due to conventional theatrical distribution.
20th Century Fox
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In its third weekend since release, Yesterday, starring Himesh Patel, has grossed $48,316,525. Yesterday’s $17 million gross its opening weekend, averaging $6,535 releasing at 2,603, suggested promising box office returns. Since its release on June 28th, The Universal title has tripled its $26 million budget earning $80 million at the global box office.
Kumal Nanjiani and Dave Bautista’s buddy comedy Stuber opened this weekend at 3,050 theaters nationwide grossing $8,043,000 averaging $2,637 per location.
Despite early negative reviews, The Lion King releases nationwide today and is expected to have a massive opening weekend. Lulu Wang’s The Farewell will slowly expand to more theaters before releasing nationwide on August 2nd.