The indie box office has shaken off the usual Toronto/Venice festival doldrums, with business picking back up thanks to Bleecker Street’s “Colette” and Annapurna’s “The Sisters Brothers.”
“Colette” scored the highest per screen average since the limited release of “Searching” last month, earning $156,788 from the traditional four-screen L.A./N.Y. launch for a PSA of $39,197. Debuting at Sundance, “Colette” stars Keira Knightley as Gabrielle Colette, the famed French novelist behind “Gigi” who struggled to earn credit for her work because of her domineering husband.
Directed by Wash Westmoreland, the film has a 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The Sisters Brothers” stars Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly as the infamous 19th century assassins Eli and Charlie Sisters, who are sent to hunt down a chemist with a plan to strike it rich during the California Gold Rush.
Also released on four screens, the Jacques Audiard-directed Western grossed $122,028 for a per screen average of $30,507. After a bumpy start, Annapurna’s distribution wing is now off to a stronger second year, with the solid opening for “Sisters Brothers” coming off of the $17.3 million box office run for “Sorry to Bother You.” The studio will look for even bigger success this winter with the likely Oscar contender “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to the Best Picture winner “Moonlight.”
Among holdovers, Roadside Attractions and Saban Films expanded the Kristen Stewart/Chloe Sevigny drama “Lizzie” to 240 screens, grossing $256,510 to bring it to a 10-day total of $325,239. The Pantelion/Lionsgate Mexican import “Ya Veremos” crossed the $4 million mark in its fourth weekend, grossing $136,000 from 114 screens. Finally, as Oscar buzz begins to bubble around Glenn Close, Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Wife” is nearing the $5 million mark after grossing $975,000 from 468 screens in its sixth weekend.