With “Venom” and “A Star Is Born” dominating moviegoer interest, there weren’t many big successes at the indie box office this weekend. But Amazon Studios’ “Beautiful Boy” was able to find success as it grossed $221,437 for a per screen average of $55,359, the fourth-highest among all films this year.
Directed and co-written by Felix Van Groeningen, “Beautiful Boy” received mixed reviews with a 64 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. But critics praised stars Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet for their performances as a worried father and his drug-addicted son.
Opening to a slower start is Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Happy Prince,” the directorial debut of Rupert Everett. Released on eight screens, the film earned $40,267 for an average of $5,033. The film stars Everett as famed satirist and playwright Oscar Wilde, along with Colin Firth, Emily Watson, and Tom Wilkinson. It has a 72 percent RT score.
Among holdovers, Fox expanded “The Hate U Give” to 240 screens this weekend, earning $1.76 million to push its total to $2.4 million; it will see nationwide release next weekend. National Geographic’s “Free Solo” expanded to 129 screens this weekend and crossed the $2 million mark with $859,051 and an average of $6,659. Fox Searchlight’s “The Old Man & the Gun,” also in its third weekend, earned $912,000 from 228 screens to push its total to just under $1.7 million.
Bleecker Street’s “Colette” added just over $1 million from 593 theaters in its fourth weekend, pushing its total to $2.5 million. Annapurna’s “The Sisters Brothers” crossed $1 million in its fourth weekend with $258,355 from 129 locations. Finally, Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Wife” crossed the $7 million mark in its ninth weekend with $215,872 from 201 screens.