Box Office Report: ‘Boyhood’ Has Biggest Summer Limited Release Opening
It sure is terrific being director Richard Linklater. As a director that crafts the most interesting work as an independent filmmaker, he has proved time and time again that if you give moviegoers something different and intriguing, it will pique the audience’s interest and will be very rewarding. Coming off of the success of Before Midnight, Linklater has done the unthinkable with his latest film Boyhood.
The film, which presented a fictional narrative over the course of 12 years, followed a boy and his family for a very powerful look at the passage of time. This 12-year exploration has already begun to change to discussions about what’s possible in the film industry, and the structure of a typical narrative.
Boyhood gained critical acclaim early on when it screened at Sundance, but it was unknown whether or not people would grab hold of a film that looked very different from what they were used to. Some said the film’s unusual premise was “gimmicky,” while others said that the lack of plot, the one device that the audience always looked for, wouldn’t stick with the regular viewing audience. This weekend Boyhood was released in the midst of the action filled box office juggernaut Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and the results are in. Capturing a film over 12 years finally paid off.
As it stands, with only playing in five theaters over the weekend, Boyhood is the summer’s best limited debut. The Apes film won the box office, and that’s not a huge surprise as it was expected to due to the wide demographic hold and marketing. Boyhood, which only had its two legs to stand on and might have lacked traditional excitement and big guns, grossed an amazing $359,000 in five movie theaters.
IndieWire reports that it means that the per theater average was $71,800. With these numbers it’s the second highest grossing indie of 2014. The first being The Grand Budapest Hotel, which currently holds the record.
The IFC Films’ SVP of Sales and Distribution Mark Moxer gave a statement about Boyhood’s box office numbers.
“We are thrilled with the opening numbers for ‘Boyhood’ this weekend. The opening numbers have surpassed our highest expectations for the weekend, as audiences flocked to theaters for the critically acclaimed film.”
After suffering the lowest box office numbers for July 4th weekend, Deadline reports that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is estimated to make $74.2 million for the weekend. Transformers: Age of Extinction is likely to follow, along with Tammy and 22 Jump Street.
