Norway’s The Worst Person in the World has crossed the $2.7 million mark at the U.S. box office in advance of the 94th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, where it will compete for best international feature.
While that may not seem like an eye-popping gross, it is in fact a major win for the revival of the art house box office. And it’s the most that any of the five films competing for the international feature Oscar have earned to date in the U.S. (or globally).
For years, U.S. specialty distributors — who don’t have access to the many millions needed for a nationwide release — launched their movies first in New York and Los Angeles. This allowed them to use word-of-mouth to build an audience and then slowly expand to other markets without having to pay a veritable fortune on advertising.
But a platform release was sidelined by the pandemic, particularly since cinemas in New York and L.A. were the last to reopen. And even when they did, older adults — the prime demo for specialty fare — remained reluctant to return to theaters. And non-English language films always face additional challenges.
U.S. distributor Neon — home of the Oscar-winning Parasite — finally returned to a traditional platform release last month, opening Worst Person in the World in four theaters in L.A. and New York over the Feb. 4-6 weekend.
The film posted an opening weekend average of $34,606 — the third-biggest of the pandemic era, behind mainstream blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home and specialty title Licorice Pizza.
It was also the biggest opening average of any foreign language film since Parasite in 2019, and is among the top 20 averages of all time.
“I don’t think a pure art house film can find great success without a traditional platform release,” says Neon’s chief and founder Tom Quinn. “Going wide doesn’t leave a lot of room for films that need to expand slowly.”
Case in point: Spencer, the Princess Diana biopic, starring Kristen Stewart, topped out at $7.1 million domestically after Neon had little choice but to launch the film in nearly 1,000 theaters in early November. The film made up ground in the home entertainment market, while Stewart is a leading contender in the Oscar best actress race.
To date, Worst Person in the World ranks ahead of fellow international Oscar nominee Drive My Car at the U.S. box office. Drive My Car, from Japan, has grossed $2 million to date. It opened over Thanksgiving, when the box office recovery wasn’t as far along. On its first weekend, it posted a per screen average of just under $7,000 from two theaters.
Many Oscar pundits have been betting on Drive My Car — which is also nominated for best picture — but Worst Person has been gaining momentum. Directed by Joachim Trier and starring Renate Reinsve, the movie is also nominated for best original screenplay.
Sony Pictures Classics likewise used a New York-L.A. platform release for Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers, which posted a location average of $12,479 when opening over Christmas weekend in three theaters. The movie has earned $2.1 million to date in the U.S., with star Penelope Cruz nominated for an Oscar for best actress. (Globally, the film has grossed north of $18 million.)
Further complicating matters, the most important art house cinema in L.A., the ArcLight Hollywood, remains closed, forcing distributors to find other venues if they want an additional venue besides The Landmark on the Westside.
United Artists Releasing president Erik Lomis, another expert in distributing art house fare, laid the groundwork for the return of the platform release when daring to open Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza in four theaters in New York and L.A. over Thanksgiving.
The best picture nominee posted a per-theater average of $84,000 for the three-day Thanksgiving weekend. It remains the top opening average of the pandemic age, and is a huge number by any metric. To date, MGM and UAR’s Licorice Pizza has earned nearly $17 million to date domestically, a tidy sum for a specialty film amidst the ongoing pandemic.
Source: Hollywood
