'Eighth Grade' Lights Up Indie Box Office With Best Per Screen Average of 2018

A24

So far this summer, the indie box office has been defined by documentaries. But now scripted films are finally making their mark as A24’s “Eighth Grade” sets a new record for the best per screen average of 2018, while Annapurna’s “Sorry to Bother You” begins its wide run.

Selling out screenings at its four locations in Los Angeles and New York, “Eighth Grade” has gotten off to a huge start with $252,284, earning a per screen average (PSA) of just over $63,000. That beats out Fox Searchlight’s “Isle of Dogs” for the top PSA of the year, as the Wes Anderson stop-motion film earned a $60,000 average back in March.

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Directed by YouTuber Bo Burnham in his feature film debut, “Eighth Grade” follows an awkward 13-year-old named Kayla (Elsie Fisher) as she navigates the final days of what has been a very difficult time in eighth grade. Debuting at Sundance this year, the film has earned critical acclaim for its unflinching look at the difficulties of entering adolescence in the age of social media and vlogging. It currently has a 99 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Sorry to Bother You,” meanwhile, expanded to 805 screens after earning $1 million in limited release. This weekend, the film beat tracker expectations and earned $4.3 million, pushing its total to $5.3 million. Like “Eighth Grade,” the darkly humorous satire is a directorial debut — this one comes from hip-hop artist and music video director Boots Riley — and has earned strong word of mouth to finish seventh among all films. The movie will expand to over 1,000 screens next weekend.

Also Read: Can the 2018 Box Office Keep Up Its Record-Breaking Momentum?

Also earning a strong debut this weekend is Gus Van Sant’s latest film, “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.” Released by Amazon Studios, the biopic stars Joaquin Phoenix as alcoholic cartoonist John Callahan, who became a paraplegic after a car accident and who struggles through treatment for his addiction. Also starring Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara and Jack Black, the film earned $83,120 for a per screen average of $20,780. It has an 80 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.

While dramas had their moment this weekend, documentaries continued to bring in strong numbers. Roadside Attractions/Miramax’s “Whitney” earned $535,385 to bring its 10-day total to $2.3 million. Neon’s “Three Identical Strangers” added $1.1 million in its third weekend for a total of $2.5 million, while Focus’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” crossed the $15 million mark in its sixth weekend as it added $1.8 million.

Finally, Bleecker Street’s “Leave No Trace” expanded to 311 theaters in its third weekend and made $1.1 million for a $2.1 million total, while Gunpowder & Sky’s “Hearts Beat Loud” crossed the $2 million mark in its sixth weekend, adding $131,000.

15 Top Grossing Documentaries at the Box Office, From 'They Shall Not Grow Old' to 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (Photos)

Documentaries are rarely big money makers, but they can have the power to influence change and motivate people to action in a way narrative films cannot. So when a documentary does make a splash at the box office, it's an even bigger surprise. This list of the top-15 grossing documentaries ever is an interesting mix of political, nature and concert docs, and several of them likewise went on to win Oscars and critical acclaim. All numbers are domestic totals via Box Office Mojo.
Warner Bros./National Geographic Films/Paramount Classics
15. "They Shall Not Grow Old" (2018) - $17.9 million

Director Peter Jackson went to painstaking lengths to digitally restore and transform 100-year-old archival footage for his powerful documentary on World War I. Jackson restored color and sound to the Great War, something that was previously only known through black and white silent film. The documentary performed well in part because of a release that even transformed the footage into 3D.
Warner Bros.
14. "Oceans" (2010) - $19.4 million

You'll see a lot of Disneynature documentaries on this list. Pierce Brosnan narrates this 2010 documentary filmed across the world's oceans.
Disneynature
13. "Bowling for Columbine" (2002) - $21.5 million

Michael Moore's provocative documentary about American gun violence (and one of his best) won the Oscar for Best Documentary and broke international box office records for a documentary in 2002.
United Artists
12. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" (2018) - $22.8 million

Morgan Neville's portrait of Fred Rogers and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" proved to be a crowd-pleasing hit in the summer of 2018 because of the absolute niceness at its heart. Neville in his film explains that Fred Rogers was the rare person who really did not have a dark side, and in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" it shows.
Jim Judkis / Focus Features
11. "An Inconvenient Truth" (2006) - $24.1 million

Davis Guggenheim's documentary spotlighting former Vice President Al Gore's plea to alert the world to the effects of global warming and climate change went on to win two Oscars and earn a sequel.
Paramount Classics
10. "Sicko" (2007) - $24.5 million

Another Michael Moore movie to crack the list, "Sicko" was Moore's look at the healthcare industry in America compared to other nations, with Moore sailing sick veterans down to Cuba to receive the care they couldn't have had at home.
Lionsgate
9. "Katy Perry: Part of Me" (2012) - $25.3 million

This 2012 concert movie followed Katy Perry on her California Dreams World Tour.
Paramount Pictures
8. "One Direction: This Is Us" (2013) - $28.8 million

"Super Size Me" filmmaker Morgan Spurlock directed this concert doc about the then wildly popular British boy group.
TriStar
7. "Chimpanzee" (2012) - $28.9 million

Tim Allen narrated this Disneynature doc about a three-month old chimp separated from his flock and adopted by another grown male.
Disneynature
6. "Earth" (2007) - $32 million

The first of Disneynature's documentaries, "Earth" was a theatrical version of the popular "Planet Earth" miniseries from 2006. "Earth" was finally given a stateside theatrical release in 2009.
Disneynature
5. "2016: Obama's America" (2012) - $33.4 million

Dinesh D'Souza's anti-Obama documentary speculated about where the country would be if Obama won a second term in office in 2012.
Rocky Mountain Pictures
4. "Michael Jackson's This Is It" (2009) - $72 million

The footage in "This Is It" comes from a behind-the-scenes look at preparation for Michael Jackson's 50 shows at London's O2 Arena. It wasn't originally meant to be made into a film, but it provided an intimate look at Jackson in his final days.
Sony
3. "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" (2011) - $73 million

The Biebs holds the spot for the highest-grossing concert film ever and the documentary with the biggest opening weekend of all time.
Paramount Pictures
2. "March of the Penguins" (2005) - $77.4 million

People sure love penguins. Morgan Freeman narrates the nature documentary that opened on just four screens but soon spread into a nationwide hit.
National Geographic Films
1. "Fahrenheit 9/11" (2004) - $119.1 million

Michael Moore's scathing documentary about President George W. Bush and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks is the highest-grossing documentary of all time and it isn't even close. The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Opening at over $23 million, the movie at the time opened higher than any other documentary had ever grossed in its lifetime. Moore followed up the film with a documentary about the 2016 election and Donald Trump, titled "Fahrenheit 11/9," which refers to the day after he was elected.
Miramax

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Michael Moore, Disneynature and several concert films top the list

Documentaries are rarely big money makers, but they can have the power to influence change and motivate people to action in a way narrative films cannot. So when a documentary does make a splash at the box office, it's an even bigger surprise. This list of the top-15 grossing documentaries ever is an interesting mix of political, nature and concert docs, and several of them likewise went on to win Oscars and critical acclaim. All numbers are domestic totals via Box Office Mojo.

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