According to data from Rentrak, independent and mini-majors released 315 titles between May 1 and August 26, with those movies grossing a collective $795.6 million domestic. Considering the overall box office was $4.44 billion this summer, indies bringing in almost 18 percent of that haul isn't too shabby. Related Stories 'A Talent for Murder' Trailer: Helen Mirren Is Patricia Highsmith Opposite Alden Ehrenreich in Anton Corbijn's Literary Thriller Frank Sinatra's Last Great Performance Served as the Bridge Between 'Dirty Harry' and 'Se7en,' but Was Bleaker Than Either
But "Obsession" and "Backrooms" alone did staggering numbers that put them in a tier of their own, above everything else we would call the "indie box office." Those two films together brought in 58 percent of the overall indie box office. And only 51 of those 315 movies surpassed $1 million domestic. You also had 158 titles that didn't even reach $100,000 at the box office, and together those movies only brought in $3.8 million.
That should give a sense of the wide range of outcomes that are capable for indies. Still, there were some this year we thought would be sleeper hits that absolutely weren't and others that surprised in limited or platform releases and are big successes, even if they didn't put up massive numbers.
Below, we go through a few of those most notable titles, looking at the Great, the Good, the Meh, and the Ugly from this summer of indies.
(All numbers below are domestic cumulative totals via Rentrak.)
So much has already been written about the sensation that was Curry Barker's "Obsession," a movie bought for $15 million out of TIFF and produced on a budget of $750K that worldwide just surpassed $500 million. It's the high bar for any movie acquired out of a festival and did the impossible feat of going up at the box office, not down , in its second and third weekends in theaters. It remained in the Top 10 for 11 weeks even as it faced stiff competition.
But consider in all that time it never hit No. 1 at the box office, putting it behind only "Sing" and "Oppenheimer" as the highest-grossing films to do that. That's the sign of a movie with word-of-mouth, with longevity, and with real impact on the industry that only a handful of such movies of its size can boast.
Like "Obsession," A24's "Backrooms" hailed from a precocious, twenty-something filmmaker (Kane Parsons) with a YouTube background and a talent for finding fresh ways to scare the shit out of us. And it became one of the year's biggest hits and most profitable films, earning a massive $395 million worldwide on a slender $10 million budget. For context, "Marty Supreme," what is now A24's second biggest hit, grossed $192 million globally and it had Timothée Chalamet in the title role. Now, everyone in Hollywood is looking for the next "Backrooms" or "Obsession." As if that's an easy thing to pull off.
"Hadestown: The Musical" – Bleecker Street and LD Entertainment – $20.7M
No, "Hadestown: The Musical" didn't reach the rarefied heights of "Backrooms" and "Obsession," but the filmed version of a West End show that's been performed on stage for seven years did monster business . Billed as a limited, five-night-only run, "Hadestown: The Musical" ended up enjoying encore after encore, extending its time in cinemas for weeks. In the process, it easily topped the previous record-holder, "Hamilton," to become the highest-grossing staged capture in history. And you know, all due respect to Orpheus and Eurydice, but that's only the most popular musical of the past two decades. So yeah, Bleecker Street has a lot to celebrate.
Sex sells. This couple-swapping, cringe comedy capitalized on glowing reviews to become an art house breakout, reestablishing director and star Olivia Wilde's box office bona fides (she previously helmed "Booksmart" and "Don't Worry Darling"). It also extended A24's hit streak after the indie studio scored with "Backrooms" — the studio is poised to do it again with the Anthony Bourdain origin story "Tony."
Coming out of Sundance, where "The Invite" scored a monster $12 million sale , there were questions about whether or not the film 's lacerating banter and penetrating look at marriage could be embraced by wider audiences. Well, those fears were clearly unwarranted. The cherry on top could be awards attention not only for the film, but for a top-shelf cast that includes Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.
After a big miss with last year's "Christy" as Black Bear's inaugural film as a distributor, "Tuner" proved to be the sleeper indie that has not been getting a chance in theaters and is exactly why so many new distributors have been emerging . The film had a strong platform opening and never expanded to beyond 50...
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Indie Box Office Report Card: From ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ to ‘I Want Your Sex,’ Breaking Down the Summer’s Winners and Losers — IndieWire | AIPROPX
