Focus Featureshad the biggest limited opening of the year with Wes AndersonsAsteroid City(gross $28 million).
Emma Seligmans raunchy teen comedyBottomsfrom MGM topped $12 million.
GKids Hayao Miyazaki animatedThe Boy And The Heron, released Dec. 8 has grossed $33 million.
(L-R) ‘Asteroid City’, ‘Poor Things’, ‘Sound of Freedom’ and ‘Saltburn’Everett
Sound of Freedomfrom Angel Studios made $184 million.
Godzilla Minus Onefrom Toho was a sleeper hit that punched above its weight at $44 million.
AndRadicalfrom Pantelion/Participant with Eugenio Derbez grossed $8.6 million.
Ditto for Neons remasteredOld Boyat $1.75 million, outgrossing its 2003 theatrical run of the Park Chan-Wook film.
I think theres a huge resurgence of indie film this year, said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
These films can really generate some heat, not only at the box office but creatively and critically.
On a per theater basis.
On a profitability basis.
They should be looked at as hits.
Fewer big films in the marketplace may have helped the independents.
The very pointed fan boredom with half-baked studio superhero movies did not hurt the indie business either.
However, Its not like people are going to see bad independent movies at the cinema.
Releases this year includedThe Eight Mountains,Orlando, My Political Biographyand Wim WendersAnselm.
Its all content driven.
If the contents there, theyll go.
This year is encouraging across the board, agreed Lisa Bunnell, head of distribution at Focus Features.
What they do is integral for arthouse films.
Its an interesting time when the Marvel and superhero films are receiving less attention.
Hopefully, that creates a lane for more original films and storytelling, he said.
But [indie distributors] are still in competition with studios.
You cant compete with that.
I dont have a satisfying answer.
Other than theres still a hunger out there for quality films.
There are people out there who are still hungry for independent and international films, he said.
Maybe some days you get lucky with streaming.
Some days you get lucky with stuff thats more traditional.
Airlines still license independent films.
There are all kinds of not sexy, not headline grabbing, ways to recoup expenses.
Its not always an output deal.
Its often a combination of things, Westphal said.
Theres no silver bullet.
If you have an output deal, thats great.
What s An indie?
As the entertainment landscape shifts, its become a bit harder to define an independent or a specialty film.
The Comscore list this year excludes films by the five major Hollywood studio.
I think [independent] is in the eye of the beholder, said Dergarabedian.
Then youd look at the budget, or the director.
What indie distributors big and small have in common they seek original ideas, they nurture new talent.
Said Kyle Greenberg, head of marketing and distribution at Utopia.
We need to champion art.
Yes, obviously distribution is a business.
But we need to remember that film is an art form.
