A Week After Trayvon Martin Verdict, ‘Fruitvale Station’ Strong at Box Office

Drama about a young African-American man's killing averages a market-high $21k per screen

A week after a verdict was reached in Trayvon Martin’s murder trial, “Fruitvale Station,” a drama about the killing of a young African-American man, continues to score big at the specialty box office.

The Weinstein Company expanded first-time director Ryan Coogler's drama about the last day in the life of 22-year-old Oscar Grant from seven to 35 theaters and it brought in $742,272 for an impressive $21,832 per-screen average – better than any film in release.

Also read: 'Fruitvale Station' and Trayvon Martin Murder Case: Art and Life Collide on Eve of Film Release

Grant was fatally shot by a guard after an altercation on a BART train in Oakland, Calif., on New Year's Day, 2009.

Elsewhere in the specialty market, the Kristen Wiig comedy “Girl Most Likely” debuted on 353 screens for Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate and took in $736,000 for a so-so $2,085 per screen average.

Also read: 'The Conjuring' Buries 'R.I.P.D.' With Record $41M Box-Office Debut

TWC's Radius label rolled out "Only God Forgives" in 78 theaters day-and-date with its streaming debut. The R-rated crime drama, starring Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas, brought in $315,008 for a roughly $4,038 per-screen average.

Meanwhile, the same label's look at backup singers, "Twenty Feet From Stardom," passed "The Gatekeepers" as the year's top-grossing documentary after upping its domestic total to $2.4 million with a $398,004 weekend on 135 screens.

Fox Searchlight expanded the coming-of-age tale 'The Way Way Back' into 304 theaters ahead of next week's nationwide rollout, and it stayed strong.

The summer comedy written and directed by Jim Rash and Ned Faxon brought in $2.2 million for a $7,300 per-theaters average and upped its domestic total to $4.6 million after 17 days. Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Liam James star.

 

 

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