‘Hearts Beat Loud,’ Fred Rogers Documentary Have Solid Debuts At Specialty Box Office

Two Sundance alums, Hearts Beat Loud and Won’t You Be My Neighbor? bonded nicely with audiences in limited release over the weekend, beginning their theatrical runs with solid numbers.

Brett Haley’s Hearts posted the higher per-theater average, debuting in four locations Friday, grossing $74,053 for an average of $18,513. Morgan Neville’s Fred Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? launched over the weekend in more than two dozen theaters, however, grossing $470K for a friendly $16,168 average, one of the best of the year for a non-fiction opening.

Gravitas opened Half The Picture with an exclusive run, grossing $7,529. Last weekend’s specialty topper, American Animals, added dozens of runs in its second frame, grossing $234,829. Magnolia’s The Gospel According to André also expanded, taking in $43K, while the company’s superstar doc RBG sets its sights on eight figures. And SPC’s The Rider closed in on $2M.

Hearts Beat Loud drummed up sizable audiences in its opening weekend. The Gunpowder & Sky release crooned in four theaters in week one grossing $74,053, averaging a respectable $18,513. Starring Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons as a father-daughter duo who bond creating music, the film is poised to show its box office chops next weekend for Father’s Day.

“We couldn’t be more proud that audiences have embraced Hearts Beat Loud,” noted Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler on Sunday. “It’s a wonderful feel-good movie with great music, killer performances and it’s a bit of an antidote to what’s going on in culture right now.”

Sundance favorite Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the latest doc from Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom), had a solid bow in 29 locations Friday to Sunday. It grossed $470K for a $16,168 per theater average. Most documentaries would welcome such a debut in far fewer theaters, though Focus Features took the doc about the iconic children television personality, Fred Rogers (aka Mister Rogers) to multiple major markets in its launch.

“Audiences have really responded to this film and Fred Rogers’ message. It’s aspirational at a time when people need it and the strong word of mouth is evident of that,” said Focus president of distribution Lisa Bunnell when reporting numbers Sunday. “There’s not a dry eye in the theater after seeing the amount of kindness Mister Rogers brought to the world.”

Focus said two-thirds of the audiences “were under 45 years old and slightly over half were male at 53%.” Next week, the film will expand its theater count to 100.

Fellow Sundance doc RBG still gets bragging rights with a slightly higher opening PTA making a debut in dozens of locations. The Magnolia/Participant release grossed over $578K in its opening weekend in early May in 34 theaters, averaging $17K. This weekend, the title grossed $700K in 375 theaters (an average of $1,867) bringing its cume to $9.13M.

American Animals from The Orchard and MoviePass Ventures had a robust open last weekend in four locations with a gross of more than $140K (or $35,158 per run). In week 2, the Sundance premiere slowed to $234,829 in 42 runs, averaging $5,591. Its total cume is now $422,427.

A Kid Like Jake spent its second frame in four theaters after an exclusive debut in New York last weekend. Starring Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer and Leo James Davis, the title grossed $4,658 for a $1,165 average and a $17,589 cume.

Magnolia doc The Gospel According to André widened to 35 theaters from last weekend’s 21. The doc about fashion icon André Leon Talley grossed $43K in 35 theaters, averaging $1,229. The title grossed $82K the prior weekend, averaging $4,100. It has cumed $256,874.

Bleecker Street added 114 locations for On Chesil Beach in its fourth outing. In 203 theaters, the title grossed $121,410 for a mild $598 PTA, bringing its cume to just under $562K.

A24 expanded First Reformed with Ethan Hawke to 334 locations vs. last weekend’s 91 with modest returns. The title grossed just under $559K, averaging $1,674, bringing its cume to $1.76M.

And SPC’s The Rider by Chloé Zhao is galloping toward $2M. In its ninth weekend, the feature grossed $120,531 ($641 average) taking its total to over $1.97M.

NEW RELEASES

Half The Picture (Gravitas Ventures) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $7,529

Hearts Beat Loud (Gunpowder & Sky) NEW [4 Theaters] Weekend $74,053, Average $18,513

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Focus Features) NEW [29 Theaters] Weekend $470,000, Average $16,168

RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND

American Animals (The Orchard/MoviePass Ventures) Week 2 [42 Theaters] Weekend $234,829, Average $5,591, Cume $422,427

A Kid Like Jake (IFC Films) Week 2 [4 Theater] Weekend $4,658, Average $1,165, Come $17,589

Breath (FilmRise) Week 2 [21 Theater] Weekend $8,200, Average $390, Cume $16,307

Rodin (Cohen Media Group) Week 2 [4 Theaters] Weekend $2,252, Average $563, Cume $8,111

HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS

The Gospel According To André (Magnolia Pictures) Week 3 [35 Theaters] Weekend $43,000, Average $1,229, Cume $256,874

How Long Will I Love U (Well Go USA) Week 3 [25 Theaters] Weekend $76,000, Average $3,040, Cume $648,587

Les Parents Terribles (Cohen Media Group) Week 3 [1 Theater] Weekend $220, Cume $10,964

Mary Shelley (IFC Films) Week 3 [31 Theaters] Weekend $19,031, Average $614, Cume $62,285

Summer 1993 (Oscilloscope) Week 3 [7 Theaters] Weekend $14,500, Average $2,071, Cume $71,309

Who We Are Now (FilmRise) Week 3 [1 Theater] Weekend $350, Cume $17,855

On Chesil Beach (Bleecker Street) Week 4 [203 Theaters] Weekend $121,410, Average $598, Cume $561,756

First Reformed (A24) Week 4 [334 Theaters] Weekend $558,982, Average $1,674, Cume $1,764,389

Pope Francis – A Man Of His Word (Focus Features) Week 4 [127 Theaters] Weekend $55,000, Average $433, Cume $1,761,000

Always At the Carlyle (Good Deed Entertainment) Week 5 [12 Theaters] Weekend $10,759, Average $896, Cume $115,565

Beast (Roadside Attractions/30 West) Week 5 [83 Theaters] Weekend $30,250, Average $364, Cume $713,274

The Seagull (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 5 [89 Theaters] Weekend $100,722, Average $1,132, Cume $672,217

RBG (Magnolia Pictures/Participant Media) Week 7 [375 Theaters] Weekend $,700,000 Average $1,867, Cume $9,133,572

Disobedience (Bleecker Street) Week 7 [101 Theaters] Weekend $92,353, Average $914, Cume $3,269,033

Let The Sunshine In (Sundance Selects) Week 7 [50 Theaters] Weekend $38,623, Average $772, Cume $765,091

The Rider (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 9 [188 Theaters] Weekend $120,531, Average $641, Cume $1,977,982

Isle Of Dogs (Fox Searchlight) Week 12 [115 Theaters] Weekend $95,000, Average $826, Cume $31,583,163

The Death of Stalin (IFC Films) Week 14 [14 Theaters] Weekend $17,594, Average $1,256, Cume $7,977,805

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