Bollywood hit Dhurandhar: The Revenge from Moviegoers. Entertainment is no. 4 in its second weekend on 987 screens with a gross of $4.9 million and a cume of $22.9 million. Aditya Dhar directs Ranveer Singh as an undercover agent in Pakistan in a rare Indian film to keep a top ranking for a second weekend. And (at 95% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes from over 1,000 ratings, it’s also broken the the record for highest grossing Indian movie at the North American box office, held since 2017 by Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.
It’s still tough out there for indie features and docs although IFC’s witchy mall comedy Forbidden Fruits managed to round out the top ten with $1.7 million at 1,525 locations. The genre title, which just premiered at SXSW, was powered by a 73% female audience. Meredith Alloway’s feature debut stars Lilly Reinhart, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp and Lola Tung as a stylish coven operating out of an upscale boutique.
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist from Focus Features debuted to $650k at 786 locations.The documentary co-directed by Charlie Tyrell and Daniel Roher is told through Roher’s eyes as a father-to-be on a quest to understand the world his child is about to inherit, with the help of leading voices shaping and challenging the rise of AI.
Neon’s psychological body horror Alpha from cult French directorJulia Ducournau (2021 Cannes Palme d’Or winner Titane) opened to $121k on 218 screens.
A24’s Marc by Sofia added 126 locations in a big second week expansion (from 2) for a total of 128 earning $100.5k for a domestic cume through Sunday of $173k. Directed by Sofia Coppola, the documentary is an intimate portrait of designer Marc Jacobs.
Event cinema: Jimmy O. Yang’s new comedy special, Jimmy O. Yang: Finally Home, taped during five sold out homecoming arena shows in Hong Kong, grossed an estimated $80.7k on 69 screens from single shows — including quite a few sellouts – on Friday and Saturday (Sunday in Canada). Yang self-released with Variance Films.
Sony Pictures Classics debuted Sylvain Chomet’s animated A Magnificent Life to $76.3k on 334 screens. That includes an Academy run for the Cannes-premiering biopic of the late Marcel Pagnol.
Greenwich Entertainment comedy Fantasy Life, the first feature from Matthew Shear, opened at the Angelika Film Center in NYC for a solid weekend gross of $39k.
Our Hero: Balthazar from Picturehouse also hit one theater, NYC’s Regal Union Square, with a nice debut at $33.3k. Expands to LA next week.
Holdovers: Watermelon Pictures’ release Palestine ’36 grossed $93.6k at 36 theaters in a week 2 expansion. Moves to top 50 markets over Easter weekend.
Miroirs No. 3 from 1-2 Special is at $30.4k at 15 theaters in week 2 for a cume of $77.7k. Expands to Miami, Portland, Seatle, Nashville, Baltimore, Cleveland and SF Bay Area theaters next week.
Janus Films’ Two Prosecutors, also in week 2, grossed an estimated $12.5k on 3 screens for a cume of $31.7k. Expands next weekend and throughout April.