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THR Photo Illustration: Theater: Adobe Stock. Employee: Mark Makela/Getty Images.
professional wrestling drama iron claw ‘ has quietly grossed $31.5 million at the domestic box office since its Christmas release, a true asset for an independent film in the post-pandemic era and one of the highest-grossing films ever for distributor A24. And it’s not the only specialty film doing great business these days, thanks to a powerful new ally in young adults.
For years, arthouse movies have relied on “older people,” moviegoers over 35 or 40, as one indie executive put it. However, that relationship collapsed during the COVID-19 crisis and has yet to fully recover. At the same time, audiences between the ages of 18 and 34 began to ignore once-certain genres like superhero movies and venture beyond their comfort zones. Elissa Federoff, head of distribution at Neon, added: “Also, people are starting to realize that streaming has plateaued. There’s very little content suitable for watching at home.”
“This is the highest attendance I can remember seeing since the early 2000s,” said Lisa Bunnell, president of distribution for Focus Features.More than 40% of ticket buyers go to opening weekend holdoversDirected and starring Alexander Payne. Paul Giamatti was under 35, she said.The film has grossed a staggering $18.8 million to date since its release in October, and after being nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor, the film was released between January 27 and 29. It will be re-released in theaters this weekend (an example of its success is that it won more awards than last year’s Best Picture nominees). Fabelmanswhich peaked domestically at $17.3 million).
On the opening weekend, iron claw — Starring with Zac Efron bear‘s Jeremy Allen White played the famous Von Erich brothers in the wrestling world. More than 60 percent of ticket buyers were under the age of 35, including a significant number of 18- to 24-year-olds. This heart-breaking film went viral thanks to its cast. The film, which also included Harris Dickinson, became a TikTok sensation as people rushed to post videos of themselves crying.
A24 is known for focusing on movies that appeal to a younger generation. lady bird (2017) is another example (and one of its first films was spring breakers).So does rival distributor Neon, home of Oscar-winning films. parasite. As more young people are discovering specialty films, more traditional specialty distributors such as majors Focus and Searchlight are also benefiting.
Opening weekend on December 8th, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Victorian-era poor thingAccording to Searchlight, 70% of ticket buyers were under the age of 35, followed by 66% for their second purchase and 58% for their third purchase. It has grossed an astonishing $21.4 million and has been nominated for 11 Oscars, the most of any film to date. oppenheimer. (Box office observers say this is not at all surprising. poor thing A genre-defying film about sexual exploration and women’s freedom starring Emma Stone will warp young people. )
Still, yet, furthermore zone of interest, a Holocaust drama (and another A24 title) that has captured the interest of young people. “It’s very remarkable and encouraging that more than half of the audience for a movie on this subject is under the age of 35. I think it’s a classic movie of last year. The Fablemans, Banshee of Inisherin, tar and armageddon time — While they were all older and more traditional in theme, some of this year’s films were able to be screened at a younger audience while still targeting an older, review-driven audience,” one expert said. Point out.
zone of interest is also in the Academy Award race for Best Picture, receiving a total of five nominations.Friends of the Best Work Candidates american fictionis another movie available from Amazon that is similarly shown to both younger and older audiences. zone of interest. On opening weekend, more than 40 percent of his ticket buyers were under the age of 34.
Considering that the domestic box office revenues of many special films that competed in last year’s Best Picture Oscar race were stagnant, the rise in box office revenues for special films is remarkable. Banshee of Inisherin ($10.6 million), tar ($6.8 million), women speaking ($5.4 million) and love triangle of sadness ($4.6 million).The big exception, of course, was the A24 Everything at once, wherever you are ($77.2 million).
In terms of using the Oscar race to increase box office revenue, american fiction Although the expansion was held back until after the nominations were announced, it is scheduled to expand from 850 theaters to more than 1,500 theaters on January 27th (it is expected to have grossed $8.4 million so far). poor thing The number of movie theaters will increase from 1,400 to 2,200. A24 is still moving at a relatively slow pace zone of interest And the number of film locations will increase from 82 to just over 300 to the north.
Kevin Wilson, head of theatrical distribution at Amazon MGM Studios, recently worked on two specialty films that primarily appeal to young adults. bottoms and salt burn, each grossed approximately $11 million at the North American box office last year, a solid showing for this time of year. “What’s interesting is that we’re starting to see an audience of younger movie buffs who are looking for more unique content,” Wilson says. The executive also praised the new generation of stars, including: salt burnBarry Keoghan.
Ask Wilson, Federoff, Bunnell, or any other distribution executive in their field, and they’ll tell you that Alamo Drafthouse is helping accelerate this trend by providing an engaging and fun environment. (Coincidentally, Alamo co-founder Tim League had a hand in launching Tom Quinn’s Neon.) And thanks to his loyalty programs offered by major circuits, he frequently watches movies. It’s becoming less prohibitively expensive to go, Federov says.
“Now people can drink and hang out in a sociable community,” Federov says. “And it’s partly nostalgia, like coming back to records. People are coming back to movies.”
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