Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City has debuted to the highest per-site average in North America since La La Land in 2016, opening through Focus Features on an estimated $790,000 over Friday to Sunday in six cinemas for a $132,211 average.
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‘Asteroid City’: Cannes Review
In encouraging news for the arthouse sector, which by and large has struggled to get back on foot at the box office in North America amid the receding pandemic, Focus reported that the fllm grossed $350,000 on Friday, $250,000 on Saturday, and $190,000 on Sunday.
It has projected an $890,000 haul over the four-day Juneteenth holiday weekend including Monday, which increases the average to $148,901. These are highest numbers since La La Land opened via Lionsgate in December 2016 on a $176,220 per-site average.
Anderson’s ensemble about eccentric goings-on at a junior stargazer convention in a fictitious American desert town in the 1950’s premiered in competition in Cannes to strong reviews and will expand this week into approximately 1,500 cinemas.
The film also scored the best per-site average of all time for a feature that opened on six screens, beating American Hustle on $123,509 in 2013; the best per-site average for a Focus release ahead of Moonrise Kingdom on $130.7000 from four in 2012; and the best opening weekend of all time at the Angelika Theatre in New York and the Landmark-owned Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles.
The ensemble cast includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis,, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, and Jeff Goldblum.
Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features president of distribution, said: “We are beyond thrilled by this weekend’s record-breaking results and the overwhelmingly positive response. Wes Anderson has a unique creative vision and it’s gratifying to see adults returning to the theaters to enjoy this film.
