A24’s Marcel The Shell Shoes At no. 8 with an estimated $340k in week three at just 48 locations and a cume north of $963k – the latest hit for the distributor after powerhouse Everything at Once The specialty box office was ablaze with them. Marcel, based on a popular 2010 YouTube series, is on a much slower rollout than that, but in terms of specialized releases it’s one of the biggest since Covid.
The distributor acquired Dean Fleischer Camp’s stop-motion/live-action hybrid about an adorable snail, voiced by Jenny Slate, at Telluride last fall and screened it at SXSW – where All You NeedIt made a big splash. It’s a favorite with critics (99% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), has strong word-of-mouth (92% RT audience score) and corresponding stellar exit polls. It will be expanding to 130-150 screens by next week, making it ready for a long summer run.
“It absolutely rules that everybody is seeing our film in theaters because we made it to be enjoyed that way,” says Camp via email. “Not only does the theatrical experience really put you in Marcel’s shoes (sorry), but it’s a film about the importance of community, which we’re all feeling right now, and that stuff just hits different when you’re with a big group all laughing and crying together.”
There’s a big opportunity here because the audience is mostly A24’s core 18-35 indie-movie fan demo for what could be a charming crossover kids’ film. Fans of the original YouTube series are Millennials/Gen Z now, and while the percentage of a self-described family audience increases each week, that’s still mostly parents bringing their kids along. MarcelIt has the best word-of mouth among all A24 films and more IP than the average distributor. A MarcelA short film was made and many books were published to follow the original series.
Isabella Rossellini voices Marcel, his grandmother Connie and their story. They were once part a vast community of shells that now lives alone after a tragic event. Marcel discovers his grandparents in an Airbnb mess and posts the short film online. It is the beginning of a story that will bring him millions of fans. Marcel was released on six screens in New York and Los Angeles for $170K. The average screen cost was $28,267.
All You Need grossed an estimated $241k this weekend for a cume of more than $67.6 million since opening in late March as younger demos flocked to the independent martial arts fantasy feature, A24’s highest grossing movie at the domestic box office. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, it stars Michelle Yeoh as well as Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu. (Kwan is married. Marcel’s animation director, Kirsten Lepore.)
A24’s releases this year And last also include The Green Knight, Zola, Lamb, C’mon C’mon, Macbeth (with Apple) Red Rocket andX.
This weekend’s specialties: Neon’s Fire Of LoveThe film, which was shown on three screens, grossed $40,686 over the three-day weekend. This is a theater average of $7.443 per screen and a total of $40,686 (PSA $13,562).
Kino Lorber’s Murina grossed a solid $6,702 in one location, NYC’s Metrograph.
“We are gratified by the audience’s embrace,” of the film, says Wendy Lidell, the distrib’s SVP theatrical/nontheatrical distribution and acquisitions of the Camera d’Or winner by Antonieta Kusijanovic. Lidell stated that the film’s opening is the most important. “in good stead to continue this success as we expand to over a dozen additional cities next week” — including LA, Chicago, Montreal, Washington D.C. and Miami.
IFC Films’ Both Sides of The Blade had a weekend gross of $25,000 in four theaters for a PSA of $6,250 and a cume of $25,000. (Mad GodIFC Midnight/Shudder had a week two gross of $19,000 at 25 sites for a PSA (760) and a cumulative of $215,000.737.
White Hill Studios was opened Shareek 2For a PTA $1,800, 55 locations were used to make the debut at $99k. The film is a Punjabi movie. “Pollywood”As the U.S. expands its regional Indian film market, films from Bollywood and elsewhere continue to grow.
Among the holdovers: Mr. Malcolm’s ListBleecker Street was the no. In week two, there were 10 sales in North America at 1,057 locations. The gross was $245,416 ( PSA $232) with a total of $1.64million.
Roadside Attractions’ The ForgivenA three-day estimated gross of $63,275 was seen on 137 screens in week 2. This is a per screen average $462 and cumulative total of $278,589.
Sony Pictures Classics’ Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song,Also in week 2, grossed $37.621 on 15 screen, an increase of three from last week. This is a per-screen average of $2.508 and a total of $75,871.