‘Blindspotting,’ ‘Eighth Grade’ Keep Indie Box Office in High Gear

Documentary “McQueen” also opens big, while “Sorry to Bother You” keeps performing well

Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, Blindspotting
Daveed Diggs, left, and Rafael Casal (Photographed by Monika Sed for TheWrap)

While “Equalizer 2” had a surprise upset victory over “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” at the top of the box office charts, the indie box office has been firing on all cylinders, with several titles finding success this weekend. Among them, “Blindspotting” and “Eighth Grade.”

This weekend’s big new release, “Blindspotting,” opened on 14 screens in five cities and earned $332,500 for a per screen average of $23,750. The Oakland-based dramedy starring and written by Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal and released by Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment and Codeblack Films, has earned rave reviews since its premiere at Sundance with a 91 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

While a strong result for Diggs in his first major post-“Hamilton” performance, “Blindspotting” wasn’t the top per screen average of the weekend. That honor went to Bleecker Street’s documentary “McQueen.” Released on four screens, the Ian Bonhote documentary examines the life and career of British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who tragically took his own life in 2010. The film made $96,928 for a weekend-best per screen average of $24,232. In a summer filled with critically-acclaimed docs, “McQueen” is the latest to win over critics with a 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.

Just behind “McQueen” is A24’s “Eighth Grade.” After earning the top per screen average of 2018 last week, the Bo Burnham teen film expanded to 33 screens and earned $794,370 for an average of $24,072. The film now has a gross just under $1.2 million with a nationwide expansion coming on August 3.

Another documentary opening this weekend is Amazon/Magnolia Pictures’ “Generation Wealth,” which explores America’s obsession with materialism and extreme displays of affluence. The Lauren Greenfield doc released on four screens, taking in $33,602 for a decent per screen average of $8,401. Critics have had a mixed reception to Greenfield’s approach, giving it a 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Annapurna’s “Sorry to Bother You” continues to stick around in the top 10, expanding to 1,056 screens in its third weekend and earning $2.8 million to bring its total to $10.2 million. On a much smaller screen count, Amazon’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” expands to 62 screens, making $265,360.

Elsewhere, Bleecker Street’s “Leave No Trace” adds $891,545 in its fourth weekend from 361 screens to bring its total to $3.6 million. NEON’s “Three Identical Strangers” adds $1.4 million from 332 screens for a $4.6 million total after four weekends. Focus’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” continues to steam towards $20 million with $1.3 million in its seventh weekend for an $18 million total, while Magnolia’s “RBG” crosses $13 million with $168,000 in its 12th weekend.

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