Christmas Day will bring a cluster of specialty titles to the box office, but some films got a head start this weekend. Leading them is A24’s “The Brutalist,” which opened on four screens in New York and Los Angeles this weekend and grossed $266,791 for a strong average of $66,700.
Starring Adrien Brody as Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian architect who struggles to fulfill his artistic vision after emigrating to America after World War II, “The Brutalist” has earned critical acclaim since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where director Brady Corbet won the Silver Lion. It has earned seven Golden Globe nominations, putting it alongside films like “Anora,” “Conclave” and “Emilia Perez” in the Oscar race.
With a 215-minute run time and an emotionally grueling second half, “The Brutalist” will have limited appeal with mass audiences. But a 15-minute intermission could help get curious moviegoers who are antsy about the length off the fence, and A24 is giving the film a month’s run exclusively in New York and Los Angeles to build word of mouth before expanding nationwide on January 24, a week after Oscar nominations are released.
Also opening this weekend is the latest film from Pedro Almodovar, “The Room Next Door,” which was released on six screens by Sony Pictures Classics and grossed $107,445 for a per theater average of $17,908.
The Golden Lion-winning film stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton as an author and her cancer-stricken friend, who asks if she can spend her final days with the author before undergoing euthanasia. SPC will expand the film to select cities on Christmas Day before a nationwide rollout next month.
Elsewhere, Amazon MGM’s “Nickel Boys” continued its limited run in five NY/LA theaters, grossing $62,162 for an average of $12,432 and a total of $145,000. The film will expand on January 3.
Paramount’s “September 5” also is continuing its limited run with $37,000 from nine screens, bringing its total to $154,000.
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