Shame box office totals

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/friday-box-office-twilight-1-week-row-hugo-hangs-strong/

Friday Box-Office: 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn' Will be #1 for Third Week in a Row While 'Hugo' Hangs

Looks like The Muppets just don't have the box-office power we thought they might as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is looking at a third weekend in the #1 slot in a row after an estimated $5.5 million on Friday which should result in a $17 million three-day weekend, which will bring its domestic cume close to $250 million.

Breaking Dawn already passed the $500 million mark worldwide and with this weekend's result will become the first of the four films in the franchise to actually hold on to the #1 spot three weekends in a row. As a matter of fact, The Twilight Saga: New Moon was the only other film in the franchise to win two weekends in a row and remains the highest grossing film in the franchise in terms of worldwide totals with $709 million and it looks like it will remain the franchise's top earner, but will Breaking Dawn – Part 2 topple it next November?

In second are The Muppets with $2.7 million, a film Laremy predicted would hit $16.75 million for the weekend, but it's looking more like $10 million at this point or maybe a tiny bit more considering it is a family film headed into Saturday and Sunday.

Budgeted at $45 million (though I have to assume the marketing budget on this one was astronomical), this will put The Muppets around the $56 million range domestically after this weekend, but wow, should this hit $11 million we're still talking about a 62% drop from last weekend. Granted, it did open on a Wednesday so a larger drop would be expected, but I'm not sure many expected this large of a drop.

In third we have one of the success stories of the year so far, at least compared to expectation as the massive $150 million budget for Hugo is going to make it hard for it to be a financial success at the box-office, but with another $2 million on Friday and a weekend that could end around $10 million, the film is still doing quite well in only 1,840 theaters. We're looking at a $5,434 per theater return should it hit $10 million for the three-day. Question is, can it expand and improve on these numbers or has it already hit its peak? After all, it's only looking at a domestic cume of $27.5 million or so after this weekend, though I anticipate it doing well overseas where it just opened in the UK and Turkey this weekend.

Elsewhere, The Descendants expanded to 2,549 theaters this weekend and pulled in $1.4 million and should hit around $4.5 million for the weekend.

Opening in only ten theaters in five cities, Steve McQueen's NC-17-rated Shame brought in an impressive $110,476. The Weinstein's The Artist expanded to San Francisco for a total of six theaters and brought in $55,574 on Friday and fellow Weinstein release, My Week with Marilyn, brought in $345,000 from 244 theaters.

I have included the top ten below courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter and will be back on Sunday with a complete weekend wrap-up.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 – $5.5 million
The Muppets – $2.7 million
Hugo – $2 million
Arthur Christmas – $1.6 million
Jack and Jill – $1.5 million
The Descendants – $1.4 million
Happy Feet Two – $1.4 million
Immortals – $1.3 million
Tower Heist – $1.2 million
J. Edgar – $710,000

http://www.indiewire.com/article/friday-box-office-shame-on-track

Friday Box Office: "Shame" On Track For Strong First Weekend

"Shame" Fox Searchlight
Steve McQueen's "Shame" debuted on 10 screens last night for Fox Searchlight and the results were far from shameful.

The NC-17 rated film - which stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan - grossed $110,476 on its first night out, averaging $11,048. That suggests the film is headng for a $350-400,000 weekend, averaging close to $40,000. That would make it one of the 10 best limited debuts of the year, and suggest its NC-17 rating is not the box office poison some fear it is.

Also of note last night was a pair of second weekend holdovers from The Weinstein Company. "The Artist" and "My Week With Marilyn" - two of the Weinsteins' biggest Oscar hopes - both had strong second weekend showings so far.

The former expanded from 4 to 6 screens and grossed $55,600, averaging $9,267. That should give "The Artist" a $200,000 or so gross for the weekend and a new total of $500,000 by weekend's end. Impressive for a silent film with no marketable stars on a handful of screens.

"Marilyn," meanwhile, held steady on 244 screens and added $345,000 to its total Friday night, averaging $1,414. Its en route to a $1.1-$1.3 million weekend (a reasonable 27% drop from last weekend), which would give it a new total of roughly $4 million by Sunday night.

Check back with Indiewire tomorrow for a full report on the weekend box office.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/friday-box-office-shame-on-track

Box Office: Steve McQueen's 'Shame' Scores In Strong First Weekend (UPDATED)

"Shame" Fox Searchlight
Steve McQueen's "Shame" debuted on 10 screens this weekend for Fox Searchlight and according to estimates the results were far from shameful.

The NC-17 rated film, which stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, grossed $361,181 over the weekend, averaging $36,118. That's the third best limited debut ever for a NC-17 rated film, following Pedro Almodovar's "Bad Education" and Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution." Notably both those films were playing on much fewer screens than "Shame" (3 and 1, respectively).

"Shame" has already doubled the final gross of McQueen and Fassbender's last team-up - 2008's "Hunger" - which ended up with a $154,084 gross.

"In a dismal down weekend the film delivered the highest per screen average this post holiday period," Fox Searchlight's Sheila DeLoach, EVP Distribution told Indiewire today. "The NC-17 rating creates a challenge for the movie, but this Steve McQueen directed film is receiving critics attention that should see a long run through the Award Season."

Also opening was Julia Leigh's controversial "Sleeping Beauty," which debuted at Cannes earlier this year, grossed $10,400 from 2 screens for distributor Sundance Selects. That made for a $5,200 average.

Kino Lorber opened "Khodorkovsky" on a sole screen at New York's Film Forum. The film grossed $6,500 over the weekend and $10,024 since opening there on Wednesday.

Among holdovers, Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" continued its triumphant run. Expanding to 574 screens (up from 433), the film grossed $5,200,000 over the weekend, averaging $9,059. That gave the film, starring George Clooney as a Hawaii land baron, an admirable new total gross of $18,087,330.

"My Week With Marilyn," which stars Michelle Williams in a heavily Oscar-buzzed role as Marilyn Monroe, marked one of two major releases from The Weinstein Company heading into sophomore frames. Holding steady on 244 screens, the film grossed $1,180,000, dropping off a fair 33% from last weekend. That resulted in a $4,836 average and a new total of $3,861,206.

The Weinsteins' other film - Michel Hazanavicus' "The Artist" - expanded ever-so-slightly from 4 to 6 screens in its second weekend. The result saw the film gross $205,580, nearly identical to last weekend's numbers. With an average of $34,263 per theater, "The Artist" saw its 10 day total gross stand at $495,939. For a silent film with no recognizable stars, this is clearly a very impressive result so far.

Also in its second weekend was "Shame" star Michael Fassbender's other major specialty release, David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method." The film, which stars Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as Freud, held steady on 4 screens in its second weekend and grossed a strong $122,517. That made for a $30,629 per-theater-average, joining "Shame" and "The Artist" as one of three films to have $30,000+ averages, which is impressive.

"A Dangerous Method" - which is being released through Sony Pictures Classics - now has a total gross of $415,880.

Other holdovers included Drake Doremus’s “Like Crazy,” which expanded from 150 to 152 screens in its sixth weekend but fell 38%. The Sundance pickup, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the festival, grossed $265,000 for distributor Paramount Vantage. That left “Crazy” with a $1,743 per-theater-average and a so-so total of $2,882,000.

Sean Durkin’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene” - a fellow Sundance alum - fell 46% this weekend as it went from 113 to 84 screens. The Fox Searchlight release, which stars Elizabeth Olsen as a woman emerging from a abusive cult, grossed $95,000, averaging $1,131. Its total now stands at $2,736,700 and its final gross shouldn't make it much past the $3 million mark.

Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” went from 91 to 116 screens in its eight weekend, grossing $165,000 with an average of $1,420. The Sony Pictures Classics-released film's total climbed to $2,658,000 as a result. Almodovar’s last film, “Broken Embraces,” ended up with a $5,014,305 final gross. Those numbers are out of reach for “Skin,” though it is not benefiting from the marketable presence of Penelope Cruz.

Finally, two of the most impressive and somewhat unexpected success stories of the fall continued well on their way:

Emilio Estevez's “The Way,” starring his father Martin Sheen, went from 101 to 160 theaters this weekend via a unique partnership between Estevez, Elixir Films, Producers Distribution Agency and ARC Entertainment. The result was a $176,000 gross and a $1,100 average. The film’s total now stands at $3,622,000.

Roadside Attractions also continued to find great news from JC Chandor’s Wall Street-set “Margin Call." The went from 140 to 150 screens in its seventh weekend and took in $226,000. That made for a $1,507 average and a new total of $4,695,000 The film is clearly turning into quite the success story, partially thanks to timing that couldn’t have been more appropriate given the Occupy Wall Street protests. The $5 million mark should have no trouble getting crossed in the next week or two.

http://social.entertainment.msn.com/movies/blogs/the-hitlist-blog.aspx?feat=149caf0b-c6dd-4496-9bdd-e14779fb8cd1

'Shame' Shakes Off NC-17 Rating for Big Opening
Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender's second outing outpaces first
Posted by Kate Erbland Sunday, December 04, 2011 4:09:59 PM
Building on tremendous critical buzz, Steve McQueen's "Shame" opened on just ten screens this weekend, but managed to pull in an impressive estimated gross (per IndieWire) of over $360,000. That places the film with an average of $36,118 per screen, the best of the weekend. It also sets "Shame" as the third best limited debut ever for a NC-17 rated film, with Pedro Almodovar's "Bad Education" and Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" taking the top spots. But as IndieWire also notes, those films also opened on far fewer screens than "Shame" (3 and 1, respectively). The first weekend for the "Shame" has also doubled the total gross of McQueen and star Michael Fassbender's first film, 2008's "Hunger" (which only pulled in $154,084 gross, despite its own positive buzz).

The film stars Fassbender and Carey Mulligan in a deep and dark story - Fassbender plays Mulligan's older brother, Brandon, who struggles with sex addiction. When Mulligan's Sissy shows up on Brandon's doorstep, planning on staying with him for an undetermined amount of time, it throws his already messy life into disarray. Both Fassbender and Mulligan have been earning (very well-deserved) awards buzz for their performances.

There were no new wide openings in theater this weekend, allowing "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" to again take the top spot. But "Shame" was not the only indie to take a bite out of the vampire love story's thunder - other limited indies, "The Artist" and "A Dangerous Method" (also starring Fassbender), turned in the second and third best per-theater averages, with the black-and-white silent "Artist" earning an average of over $34,000, with "Method" pulling in behind with nearly $31,000 per theater. Both films are in their second week of release.
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http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/12/05/shame-box-office-release-schedule/

Dec 5 2011 12:08 PM ET

'Shame' opens strong at box office: Here's when you'll be able to see it
by Mandi Bierly

Steve McQueen’s Shame, the unsexy NC-17 drama starring Michael Fassbender as a sex addict, grossed an estimated $361,000 from 10 theaters over the weekend, averaging $36,100 per location, according to early estimates. It’s a solid number when you consider David Cronenberg’s Crash starring James Spader opened to an estimated $738,000 in 42 theaters in 1996, and in 2004 Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers opened to $142,632 in five theaters while David Mackenzie’s Young Adam starring Ewan McGregor opened to $50,300 in nine theaters.

Though Shame has received mixed reviews from critics, Fassbender has Oscar buzz, which will propel a wider release throughout awards season. Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego, and Seattle add screens on Dec. 9. Click here for the release schedule.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/box-office-tinker-tailor-debuts-to-massive-numbers#

Box Office: 'Tinker Tailor' Debuts To Massive Numbers; 'Young Adult,' 'Kevin' Also Very Strong (UPDATED)

While Hollywood was singing the box office blues yet again this weekend after its worst overall showing since 2008, the specialty market actually had cause to celebrate.

Most notably this was thanks to the massive limited debut of Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." According to estimates provided by Rentrak earlier today, the Focus Features-released film, which is already a huge hit in its native UK, had the third highest limited debut of 2011. On 4 screens, "Tinker" grossed a stunning $300,737, which amounted to a $75,184 per-theater-average. That follows only "Midnight in Paris" and "The Tree of Life" in terms of 2011 averages, and is among the 30 best averages of all time.

"Tinker" - a spy thriller starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and John Hurt - played 2 theaters in LA and 2 in New York. Its best showing was the Arclight in Hollywood, where it is estimated to gross $93,814.

"'Tinker' had an impressive opening weekend," Focus Features said today. "Box office momentum increased from Friday to Saturday as reflected by the day’s box office numbers in each theater. Every theater again experienced sell out or close to sell out conditions from late matinee through the 9:00PM shows."

Focus also noted that the film will likely rank #3 or #4 among all films on record that opened in 4 theaters, based on the weekend estimates.

Two other films also debuted to very strong numbers. Paramount released Jason Reitman's dark comedy "Young Adult" on 8 screens and saw a $320,000 gross. That amounted to a potent $40,000 average for the film, which stars Charlize Theron as an alcoholic teen fiction writer who comes back to her hometown to wreck havoc.

While strong, the numbers failed in comparison to Reitman's previous outings. In 2009, "Up In the Air" averaged $78,763 from 15 screens, while "Juno" averaged $59,124 from 7 screens in 2007 and "Thank You For Smoking" averaged $52,584 from 5 in 2006. Paramount will expand the film significantly next weekend.

Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin."
Oscilloscope debuted Lynne Ramsay's "We Need To Talk About Kevin" on a sole screen at New York's Angelika Film Center this weekend for an Oscar qualifying run (it will be released into theaters again come January). The film, which stars Tilda Swinton as the mother of a teenager who goes on a shooting rampage at his school, grossed an impressive $24,000 over the weekend.

There was lots of good news on the holdover front as well, despite a very crowded marketplace.

Steve McQueen's "Shame" expanded from 10 to 21 screens this weekend for Fox Searchlight. The NC-17 rated film starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan grossed $276,068 as a result, averaging $13,146. The film has now totaled $774,154. Thats nearly six times the final gross of McQueen and Fassbender's last team-up - 2008's "Hunger," which ended up with a $154,084 gross.

"This NC-17 film is attracting the late night crowd, and holding up well as we expanded to additional regional cities," Fox Searchlight's Shelia DeLoach told Indiewire. "On Friday we will expand further to 9 additional U.S. markets and 1 in Canada bringing the theatre total to 45 – 50."

Kino Lorber's "Khodorkovsky" held steady on a sole screen at New York's Film Forum in its second weekend. The film grossed $5,500 over the weekend to total $19,714.

Meanwhile, Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" continued its triumphant run. Expanding to 876 screens (up from 574), the film grossed $4,385,000 over the weekend, averaging $5,006. That gave the film, starring George Clooney as a Hawaii land baron, a very admirable new total gross of $23,635,423.

"My Week With Marilyn," which stars Michelle Williams in a heavily Oscar-buzzed role as Marilyn Monroe, marked one of two major releases from The Weinstein Company heading into their third frames. Holding steady on 244 screens, the film grossed $784,000, dropping off a fair 34% from last weekend. That resulted in a $3,213 average and a new total of $5,121,839.

The Weinsteins' other film - Michel Hazanavicus' "The Artist" - expanded from 6 to 16 screens in its third weekend. The result was a $292,130 gross, up 38% from last weekend's numbers. With an average of $18,258 per theater, "The Artist" saw its 17 day total gross stand at $885,510. For a silent film with no recognizable stars, this is clearly a very impressive result so far.

"Shame" star Michael Fassbender's other major specialty release - David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" - also held on well. The film, which stars Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as Freud, held steady on 4 screens and grossed a strong $80,125. That made for a $20,031 per-theater-average, joining "Tinker," "Adult," and "Kevin" as one of four films to have $20,000+ averages, which is impressive.

"A Dangerous Method," which is being released through Sony Pictures Classics, now has a total gross of $539,134 despite a very small screen count three weeks running.

Other holdovers included Drake Doremus’s “Like Crazy,” which expanded from 152 to 160 screens in its sixth weekend but fell 34%. The Sundance pickup, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the festival, grossed $170,000 for distributor Paramount Vantage. That left “Crazy” with a $1,049 per-theater-average and a total of $3,151,000 .

Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In” dropped from 116 to 109 screens in its ninth weekend, grossing $111,000 with an average of $1,018. The Sony Pictures Classics-released film's total climbed to $2,833,000 as a result. Almodovar’s last film, “Broken Embraces,” ended up with a $5,014,305 final gross. Those numbers are out of reach for “Skin,” though it is not benefiting from the marketable presence of Penelope Cruz.

Finally, two of the most impressive and somewhat unexpected success stories of the fall continued well on their way:

Emilio Estevez's “The Way,” starring his father Martin Sheen, dropped from 160 to 120 theaters this weekend via a unique partnership between Estevez, Elixir Films, Producers Distribution Agency and ARC Entertainment. The result was a $123,396 gross and a $1,028 average. The film’s total now stands at $3,836,967.

Roadside Attractions also continued to find great news from JC Chandor’s Wall Street-set “Margin Call." The dropped from 150 to 1542 screens in its eighth weekend and took in $204,400. That made for a $1,400 average and a new total of $4,973,150 The film is clearly turning into quite the success story, partially thanks to timing that couldn’t have been more appropriate given the Occupy Wall Street protests. The $5 million mark should have no trouble getting crossed any day now.

Check out further analysis on the success of both "The Way" and "Margin Call" here.

Peter Knegt is Indiewire's Associate Editor. Follow him on Twitter and on his blog.

Indiewire tracks independent/specialty releases compiled from Rentrak Theatrical, which collects studio reported data as well as box-office figures from North American theatre locations. To be included in the Indiewire Box Office Chart, distributors must submit information about their films to Rentrak at studiogrosses@rentrak.com by the end of the day each Monday..

http://www.indiewire.com/article/box-office-albert-nobbs-top-debut-on-oscar-fueled-weekend

Box Office: 'Albert Nobbs' is the Top Debut On Oscar-Fueled Weekend

Rodrigo Garcia's "Albert Nobbs." Roadsite Attractions.
Roadside Attractions released its thrice-Oscar nominated "Albert Nobbs" on an ambitious 245 screens this weekend. Starring Glenn Close in an Oscar-nominated performance, "Nobbs" took in $772,730, averaging $3,154 and taking its cume to $822,981, when one includes Oscar qualifying numbers.

Also opening was France's selection for the Oscars (though it didn't make the cut), "Declaration of War." On six screens the film grossed $14,400 for a weak $2,400 average.

Among holdovers, Ralph Fiennes' "Coriolanus" continued to stumble. The film, which had an Oscar-qualifying run back in December, grossed only $50,000 from 12 screens for an average of $4,167. The film's total now stands at $142,251.

Also in its second weekend was Frederick Wiseman's "Crazy Horse," which Zipporah Films expanded from one screen to two. The film grossed $10,860, averaging $5,480 and bringing its cume to $27,873.

Lynne Ramsay's "We Need To Talk About Kevin" expanded from seven screens to 10 in the third weekend of its official theatrical run. The result was a $66,000 gross and an average of $6,600. Added to its Oscar-qualifying numbers from December, "Kevin" has now taken in $282,923.

Holding on strongly was Oscar-nominated "Pina," which expanded from 10 to 35 screens in its sixth weekend. The Wim Wenders-directed 3D documentary that looks at the work of dance artist Pina Bausch grossed $185,000, averaging $5,286. That gave it a total of $1,048,000 ahead of a further expansion (50 markets next weekend), which could make "Pina" a huge success story for distributor Sundance Selects.

Also finding strong numbers was Asghar Farhad's Iranian drama "A Separation," which Sony Pictures Classics pushed from 13 screens to 31 in its fifth weekend. The film, which just got Oscar nominations best foreign-language film and best original screenplay, scored a $280,583 gross, averaging $9,051 (the highest of any film in release) and soaring 154% in grosses. Its total now stands at $892,536.

The fourth weekend of Weinstein Company release "The Iron Lady" saw the film expand from 1,075 to 1,244 screens. The film grossed an impressive $3,190,000, though that was down 13% from last weekend despite the screen increase (and the publicity from Meryl Streep's Oscar nomination). That gave "Lady," starring Streep as Margaret Thatcher, an average of $2,564. The film has now totalled $17,504,482 with Streep's Oscar nomination sure to help make that grow.

Focus Features continued to see very strong numbers from Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (which nabbed three Oscar noms). In its seventh weekend, Focus dropped the film from 731 to 410 screens and still saw it gross $1,056,192. Starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and John Hurt, the well-reviewed film has now totaled $20,121,333. A final gross above $25 million is definitely possible.

Steve McQueen's "Shame" dropped from 95 to 80 screens in its ninth weekend for Fox Searchlight. The NC-17 film starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan (both of whom sadly failed to get Oscar nominations) grossed $172,000, dropping 29% in grosses. That gave "Shame" a respectable $2,150 average and a new total of $3,285,225, making it only the seventh NC-17 film to gross over $3 million.

Fassbender's other major specialty release (which also didn't make Oscar's cut), David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," went from 105 to 365 screens. The Sony Pictures Classics film, which stars Fassbender as Jung and Viggo Mortensen as Freud, took in $596,598 over the weekend, jumping 56% in grosses. That made for a $1,635 per-theater-average and a new total of $4,114,780.

Finally, two of Oscar's biggest hopefuls continued to do good business.

Fox Searchlight's release of Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" expanded to an ultra-wide 2,001 screens and jumped 176% in grosses. In its eleventh weekend of release, it took in $6,550,000, averaging $3,273. The new total of $58,848,014 surpasses "Midnight in Paris" as the highest-grossing indie film to be released in 2011.

Expanding from 662 to 897 screens, Michel Hazanavicius's "The Artist" continued to give the Weinstein Company reason to celebrate as it heads into Oscar night as the assumed frontrunner. The film managed a $3,315,000 gross over its tenth weekend, a 40% jump from last weekend. Averaging $3,696, the film's total has now grown to $16,744,098.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/weekend-box-office-oscar-contenders-update

Weekend Box Office: Oscar Contenders Update
Box Office by Tom Brueggemann | January 29, 2012

Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
The weekend after the nominations resulted in the leading contenders grossing around $30 million total, on par with recent years despite there not being one single film that boosted the total. Rather, the wealth, in varying degrees, was spread around a number of films, with “The Descendants” gaining the most. “The Artist” expanded further, continuing its mixed but steady numbers. Two new openings trailed behind the established films.

New Openers:

“Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions) – Metacritic score: 57

$773,000 in 245 theaters; PSA: $3,155

After a one-week qualifying run in early December with unreported grosses, this officially opened in multiple markets (rather than a more conventional platform) to cash in on the two acting nominations. The result – likely in part because of the mixed consensus reviews for the film (though more positive for the acting) – is a mediocre showing. Last year, Roadside released best actor-nominated “Biutiful” on the same weekend, in far fewer theaters (59) but grossed only a third less ($459,000) while heading to over $5,000,000 total gross.

What it means: This already has gone wider in a single week than “Biutiful” ever did. Another weekend to reveal how WOM (word of mouth) works out is needed to see if this will warrant further expansion, or only moving existing prints into new theaters and markets before the awards.

“Declaration of War” (IFC/Sundance Selects) – Metacritic score: 75

$14,400 in 6 theaters; PSA (per screen average): $2,400

Glenn Close and Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"

This is a real disappointment, particularly for a film not with a parallel VOD availability as IFC often has. Although the date was set to play off of its North American premiere at Sundance last week, it would also have benefitted from becoming a Foreign Language nominee (it was France’s submission). The genre-misleading title (the story involves parents dealing with their ill child) may have hurt its chances.

What it means: Another worthy foreign film will have limited theatrical exposure going forward.

Expansions/continuing:

“The Artist” (Weinstein) – week 10
$3,315,000 in 895 theaters (+235); PSA: $3,696; Cumulative: $16,744,000
Now at the widest point of its release yet, with the wind at its back as the presumed Oscar favorite, at this point the die is cast. If it wins best picture, it likely will be with the fewest people having seen the film since the age of early wide releases started in the 1970s. (“The Hurt Locker,” which grossed less, was seen by millions of people on DVD and VOD two years ago during the nomination period).

After this weekend, “The Artist” will have been seen by about two million people in the US/Canada. Based on keeping to this appropriate level of runs, this might reach around $30 million by Oscar night. That will mean at most four million ticket buyers going into the awards, far below historical averages. The good news (apart from the front-runner reaffirming win at the DGA last night) is that even with increasing theaters, the PSA went up from last weekend. The level, while not great, means that the film is finding enough of an audience to sustain momentum for the next few weeks. One thing it has in common with “The Hurt Locker” is never having gotten into the top 10 films for any week (#12 this weekend). But that film was released in the summer (with much higher competing grosses), and its best week (#13) was with only 238 theaters. Its widest break had only 535. “The Artist” is on nearly 900 the weekend in a position far stronger than “The Hurt Locker” ever was.

What it means: This is a classic glass half-full/half-empty. It is amazing that a black and white French silent film has grossed this much. It is unprecedented that the likely best film winner isn’t attracting more of an audience during this key period. But if it continues at this level and wins, Weinstein (which seems to have not overspent on marketing) should still ultimately come out fine overall.

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” (Warner Brothers) – week 6

$7,145,000 in 2,630 theaters (unchanged); PSA: $2,717; Cumulative - $21,106,000

Whether it was genius or just dumb luck, the delayed release pattern for this film – keeping to a narrow, mediocre-grossing level in its platforms, then expanding around the nominations – paid off with its unexpected best picture nomination (along with Max von Sydow). The gross went down 28%, surely bolstered by the nominations, but also showing a degree of sustained audience interest.

What it means: From here on out, WOM will determine how well this holds itself until the awards. But as its long-shot nomination showed, there seems to be a part of the public that is strongly reacting to this story.

“The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) – week 11

$6.550,000 in 2,001 theaters (+1,441); PSA: $3,273; Cumulative: $58,848,000

The singular unquestioned success of this awards season rises to its best level yet in terms of position and total gross - #7 for the weekend, over 2,000 prints. Considering how long this has played and how many markets in which it has already played for some time, this new life is the best indication of how nominations can add to interest in a film. The PSA is respectable for the number of runs and the length of time it has been around.

What it means: Crossing the $100 million mark – which would just add to the already considerable profit this will make – may depend on a Clooney best actor win, but this will clearly be Payne’s biggest hit (“Sideways” reached $71 million in 2005, so even with ticket inflation this will be exceeded) and also outgross “Up in the Air.”

“Hugo” (Paramount) – week 10

$2,275,000 in 965 theaters (+315); PSA: $2,358; Cumulative: $58,691,000

Considering that this has only partial show times at many of its theaters (sharing screens with other films), this isn’t a bad performance. It’s actually about 2/3s of “The Artist”’s PSA by comparison.

What it means: Unlike “The Descendants,” or “The Artist,” despite having the most nominations this likely will only have marginal further business going into the awards (perhaps at best, barring an upset Best Picture win, approaching $70,000,000). That would only marginally decrease the massive losses the film has sustained.

“The Iron Lady” (Weinstein) – week 5

$3,190,000 in 1,244 theaters (+168); PSA: $2,564; Cumulative: $17,504,000

The best actress nomination was assumed, so any boost from it likely was minimal. This had a normal PSA decline (factoring in the added theaters). What is striking – and this has to rebound entirely to Meryl Streep’s amazing appeal – is that three years ago, even with a best picture nomination and fresh to most theaters, “The Reader” had a lower PSA at fewer theaters ($2,376, total of $12,655,000).

What it means: “The Reader” ultimately grossed $34,000,000, comparable to some other lead acting winning films in recent years (“Crazy Heart,” “Milk,” “There Will Be Blood”). This likely at least comes close to that level even if Streep doesn’t win. Not bad for a film that would have had a hard time gain much U.S. attention had she not been the star.

“A Separation” (Sony Pictures Classics) – week 5

$281,000 in 31 theaters (+18); PSA: $9,065; Cumulative: $893,000

SPC is expanding this more rapidly than usual for a foreign language film, which between its strong initial performance and trying to benefit from its two nominations is paying off. Though not a great PSA, this has been steady at every level of expansion. But compared to past Iranian films that had some market impact (“The White Balloon” and “Children of Heaven” leading the way), this will reach unprecedented depth in the market even if it doesn’t win the Foreign Language Oscar.

What it means: This has already grossed almost as much as last year’s SPC-released FL winner “In a Better World” and should also surpass their nominee “Incendies.” Almodovar’s recent “The Skin I Live In” was the most recent subtitled high grosser ($3,150,000). “A Separation” could easily at least reach that level.

"War Horse" (Buena Vista) - week 6

$2,002,000 in 1,861 theaters (-664); PSA: $1,076; Cumulative: $75,617,000

Despite its nominations, its PSA went down even with fewer theaters playing, which is not a positive sign.

What it means: Disney will continue to lose theaters as its five mostly technical Oscar nominations are helping very little.

“Pina” (IFC/Sundance Selects) – week 6

$186,000 in 35 theaters (+25); PSA: $5,314; Cumulative: $1,048,000

Even with 3D ticket prices, this is falling short of what “A Separation” is grossing in comparable situations. A rough comparison to the early expanded results for last year’s IFC 3D art success “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” shows this with roughly 50% of that film’s PSA (which led to a $5 million gross).

What it means: As this expands, even with continuing good reviews, this is becoming more of a narrow-niche film for a dance-oriented audience. With its Documentary Feature nomination, some additional interest can be nurtured, but there seems little chance for much expansion beyond specialized theaters.

“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Focus) - week 8

$1,056,000 in 410 theaters (-321); PSA: $2,576; Cumulative: $20,121,000

The PSA shot up with the nominations and far fewer theaters. With its best actor nomination, expect this to sustain a presence until the awards, though with diminishing returns.

What this means: At the same post-nominations weekend, Focus’ “Atonement” – which was a best picture nominee – already had passed $37 million on its way to $50 million. This likely will, barring an upset Oldman win, top out close to $25 million.

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony) - week 6

$2,225,000 in 1,202 theaters (-705); PSA: $1,851; Cumulative: $98,220,000

A decent nomination tally keeps this alive for another week and more, though week by week it continues to lose more theaters.

What it means: This will pass $100 million by next weekend, but still will end up as the fourth-best Christmas release (behind three sequels), which is less than Sony had hoped. With decent but not spectacular overseas grosses so far, whether this turns into a franchise remains to be seen.

“My Week With Marilyn” (Weinstein) – week 10

$335,000 in 186 theaters (-39); PSA: $1,801; Cumulative: $12,592,352

The PSA actually went up slightly with only a small fall-off in theater count after Williams’ expected nomination (along with Branagh).

What it means: Unless Williams upsets at SAG tonight, this will likely hold on around this level until the awards.

“We Need to Talk About Kevin” (Oscilloscope) - Week 2

$66,000 in 10 theaters (+3); PSA: $6,600; Cumulative: $283,000

With additional theaters added to take advantage of a best actress nomination that didn’t transpire, this now is in the danger zone.

What it means: The performance in further markets will have to be bolstered by reviews at least as strong as the ones it has received so far. Even with that, it will remain a tough sell without Swinton being in the mix.

“Shame” (Fox Searchlight) – week 9

$172,000 in 80 theaters (-15); PSA: $2,150; Cumulative: $3,285,000

Another victim of the acting branch’s shunning of edgier performances, the gross for this absent the anticipated Fassbender nod is actually impressive all things considered.

What it means: Any chances though of following a further expansion and total gross like last year’s similar “Blue Valentine” are now gone.

“Carnage” (Sony Pictures Classics) – week 5

$127,000 in 70 theaters (-178); PSA: $1,814; Cumulative: $2,191,000

The grosses for this, with its A-list cast and director and much wider release, is what makes “Shame” look much better by comparison.

What it means: This is at the end of its road.

“Coriolanus” (Weinstein) – Week 2

$50,000 in 12 theaters (+3); PSA: $4,167; Cumulative: $142,300

Strong reviews never kicked in for this Shakespearean adaptation, which likely loses its key NY/LA theaters very soon.

What it means: Whatever chance this had for a rebound disappeared when the once-expected Vanessa Redgrave supporting nomination didn’t materialize.