Specialty Box Office: ‘Zero,’ ‘Amour’ Lead Slew of Strong Oscar Contenders; ’56 Up’ Strong In Exclusive Debut

The first weekend of 2013 brought very good news to a group of films hoping to get further boosts from this Thursday’s Oscar nominations, with Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” and Michael Haneke’s “Amour” leading the way.

The former finally expanded after 2 weekends static in 5 theaters, going to 60 ahead of next weekend’s post-Oscar nom wide release. Things sure looked promising as the Osama Bin Laden-procedural grossed $2,750,000, averaging a stunning $45,834 per theater. The top 5 theaters included the Lincoln Square 13 in NY, River East 21 in Chicago, Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, CA  Century City 15, and Cinemark West Plano 20 in Texas. It was the top grossing film in 51 of its 60 theaters, and now has a total of $4,460,000.

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Perhaps just as impressive was Sony Classics’ “Amour,” which held steady on 3 screens but managed to increase its gross 3% anyway. Grossing $63,596, it averaged $21,199 (its third straight weekend of a $20,000+ average) and has impressively totalled $315,011 after 17 days in just 3 theaters.

Other strong performers included “Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Impossible,” “Hyde Park on Hudson” and “Rust and Bone,” each managing averages in the $4,000s. “Silver Linings” impressively did so on 745 theaters in its 8th weekend, falling just 11% despite no new theaters and taking its total to $34,671,059 ahead of its post-Oscar nom expansion.

The only reporting newcomer was the eighth film in Michael Apted’s “Up” series, “56 Up.” The doc — which is part of a series that follows the lives of fourteen British people since 1964, when they were seven years old — grossed $20,500 from an exclusive engagement at New York’s IFC Center, a very strong start.

“It’s thrilling to watch the latest UP film connect with audiences,” said Seymour Wishman, President of First Run Features, distributor of the film.  “It’s amazing to think about the fact that 28 years ago First Run released 28 UP in America to great acclaim, and here we are, nearly three decades later, with audiences captivated again.  The Up Series, thanks to its brave participants and Michael Apted’s dedication, is truly one of the enduring works in the history of cinema.”

Full list of numbers for reporting openers and holdovers on the next page, ranked by per-theater-average.

The Debuts:

1. 56 Up
Distributor: First Run
Weeks in Release: 1
Gross:  $20,500
Theaters: 1
Average: $20,500
Cumulative Total:  $20,500

The Holdovers

1. Zero Dark Thirty
Distributor: Sony
Weeks in Release: 3
Gross:  $2,750,000
Theaters: 60 (up from 5)
Average: $45,834
Cumulative Total:  $4,460,000

2. Amour
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Weeks in Release: 3
Gross:  $63,596
Theaters: 3 (even with last week)
Average: $21,199
Cumulative Total:  $315,011

3. Silver Linings Playbook
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
Weeks in Release: 8
Gross: $3,611,000
Theaters: 745 (even with last week)
Average: $4,847
Cumulative Total: $34,671,059

4. The Impossible
Distributor: Summit
Weeks in Release: 3
Gross:  $2,760,000
Theaters: 572 (up from 15)
Average: $4,825
Cumulative Total:  $3,417,029

5. Hyde Park on Hudson
Distributor: Focus Features
Weeks in Release: 5
Gross: $1,043,908
Theaters: 222 (up from 84)
Average: $4,703
Cumulative Total: $3,222,583

6. Rust and Bone
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Weeks in Release: 7
Gross: $179,125
Theaters: 39 (up from 26)
Average: $4,593
Cumulative Total: $881,242

7. On The Road
Distributor: IFC Films
Weeks in Release: 3
Gross: $22,200
Theaters: 6 (up from 4)
Average: $3,700
Cumulative Total: $145,200

8. Promised Land
Distributor: Focus Features
Weeks in Release: 2
Gross: $4,311,563
Theaters: 1,676 (up from 25)
Average: $2,573
Cumulative Total: $4,657,091

9. Anna Karenina
Distributor: Focus Features
Weeks in Release: 9
Gross: $356,984
Theaters: 163 (down from 218)
Average: $2,190
Cumulative Total: $11,530,593

10. West of Memphis
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Weeks in Release: 2
Gross:  $8,352
Theaters: 4 (down from 5)
Average: $2,088
Cumulative Total:  $39,828

11. Holy Motors
Distributor: Indomina Media
Weeks in Release: 10
Gross: $25,382
Theaters: 18 (up from 14)
Average: $1,410
Cumulative Total: $560,586

12. Samsara
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Weeks in Release: 20
Gross:  $11,000
Theaters: 8 (even with last week)
Average: $1,375
Cumulative Total:  $2,638,326

13. The Other Son
Distributor: Cohen Media Group
Weeks in Release: 11
Gross: $16,927
Theaters: 13 (down from 17)
Average: $1,302
Cumulative Total: $1,199,098

14. Hitchcock
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Weeks in Release: 7
Gross: $147,000
Theaters: 118 (down from 349)
Average: $1,237
Cumulative Total: $5,483,378  

15. Searching For Sugar Man
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Weeks in Release: 24
Gross:  $30,685
Theaters: 26 (down from 28)
Average: $1,180
Cumulative Total:  $3,062,629

16. Chasing Ice
Distributor: Submarine Deluxe
Weeks in Release: 9
Gross: $38,652
Theaters: 49 (up from 40)
Average: $789
Cumulative Total: $854,635

17. Not Fade Away
Distributor: Paramount Vantage
Weeks in Release: 3
Gross:  $280,000
Theaters: 565 (up from 19)
Average: $496
Cumulative Total:  $426,798