The Weinstein Company’s comedy-drama “Unfinished Song” debuted in two theaters and took in $27,692 this weekend.
That’s a solid $13,846 per-screen average for the British import, which was written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams. Terence Stamp stars as a grumpy pensioner who honors his recently deceased wife’s passion for performing by joining the local choir to which she used to belong. Christopher Eccleston and Gemma Arterton co-star.
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Weinstein is hoping "Unfinished Song" — which was earlier known as "Song for Marion" — can duplicate the success of "Quartet." That similarly music-themed and mature-skewing comedy-drama, directed by Dustin Hoffman, has taken in $18 million domestically since opening in January, and $57 million worldwide.
Also opening was Magnolia Pictures’ Somali pirate drama “A Hijacking,” from Danish writer-director Tobias Lindholm. It brought in $42,500 from seven screens for a strong $6,071 per-screen average.
Cohen Media Group’s “The Attack” debuted in three theaters and brought in $26,352. That’s an $8,784 per-screen average for writer-director Ziad Dueiri’s R-rated drama about an Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv who discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing.
Samuel Goldwyn Films opened Jason Wise’s documentary about wine sommeliers, “SOMM,” on five screens and brought in $22,500 for a per screen average of $4,500.
Meanwhile, “Mud” has become the second independent release of the year to cross the $20 million mark.
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The Matthew McConaughey drama brought in $312,650 from 213 theaters ($1,465 per-screen) to lift its domestic total to $20.1 million after nine weeks for Roadside Attractions, making it that company’s highest-grossing film ever.
It is the second indie film of the year to hit the mark, following Focus Features’ “The Place Beyond the Pines, which has taken in $21.3 million since opening in March.
There was more good news for Roadside. It expanded Joss Whedon‘s contemporary take on Shakespeare, “Much Ado About Nothing,” from 26 to 206 theaters and took in $762,350 for an average of $3,700 per screen. Its overall total is $1.2 million after three weeks.
“20 Feet From Stardom, the documentary about backup singers from the Weinstein Compnay’s specialty label Radius, went from three to six theaters and took in $74,682 in its second week, a $10,780 per-screen average.
CBS Films’ “The Kings of Summer” brought in $124,000 from 65 screens for a $1,098 per-screen average. That raises the domestic total for Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ coming-of-age tale to $754,608 after four weeks.
Fox Searchlight upped the theater count on “The East” from 115 to 195 and saw the Zal Batmanglij-directed drama bring in $348,000 for a $1,785 per-screen average.
IFC Films’ “Frances Ha” went past the $3 million mark in its sixth week. The Noah Baumbach-directed comedy drama, starring and co-written by Greta Gerwig took in $190,400 from 140 screens to up its domestic total to $3.2 million.