Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer" debuted to an average of $10,525 on four New York screens this weekend, grossing an estimated $42,100.
The movie follows Flik Royale, a 13-year-old boy from Atlanta who is sent to live with his preacher grandfather in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
The film was released by Variance Films/40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks, who plan to expand it in the New York area next week, then go national on August 24.
"We're very excited," said Dylan Marchetti, president of Variance Films, "We made sure the film was available to audiences in Harlem and of course, the Republic of Brooklyn right on the break, and the reaction from the crowds showed it was clearly worth it."
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Meanwhile, Julie Delpy’s “2 Days in New York” grossed $27,000 from two New York screens for a $13,500 per-screen average, best of any film this weekend.
Chris Rock and Delpy star in the romantic comedy, a sequel to her 2007 film “2 Days in Paris.”
Another of the weekend’s openers, Kino Lorber’s “Meet the Fokkens,” took in $8,000 playing on a single screen in New York. The documentary about twin 69-year-old sisters who worked for decades as prostitutes in Amsterdam, opened Wednesday and has taken in $10,500 so far.
Last week’s big opener, Sony Pictures Classics’ “Celeste and Jesse Forever,” expanded from four to 18 theaters and took in $134,394, a $7,472 per-screen average. Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood and Emma Roberts star in tale of a separated couple (Jones and Samberg) who try and remain best friends after breaking up. Jones co-wrote with Will McCormack.
LD Entertainment's “Killer Joe” expanded from 14 to 36 theaters and took in $146,000 for a $4,056 per-screen average. William Friedkin's NC-17-rated crime thriller starring Matthew McConaughey now has an overall gross of $431,179.
Magnolia Pictures’"360" went from two to nine screens and made just $10,000, a $1,111 per-screen average. Anthony Hopkins, Ben Foster, Rachel Weisz, and Jude Law star.
Magnolia’s Sundance documentary "The Queen Of Versailles" expanded from 68 to 84 screens in its fourth weekend and took in $210,000, a $2,500 per-screen average.
Fox Searchlight took "Ruby Sparks from 64 to 261 theaters and grossed $453,000. That's a soft $1,736 per-screen average for Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris's first film since "Little Miss Sunshine."
"Searching For Sugar Man" from Sony Pictures Classics, the Audience Award winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, went from seven to 15 screens and took in $63,250 for a $4,217 per-screen average. The documentary from Malik Bendjelloul's chronicles two South Africans’ search for their musical hero.