Sony Pictures Classics' The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, directed by Noah Segan and starring John Turturro, entered the specialty box office top 10 after expanding from six theaters to 1,112 in its second week. The film topped $1.9 million for the weekend and has an estimated cume of $2.1 million. It follows an aging New York pickpocket trying to return a valuable stolen USB drive to a vengeful crime family. The film is Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh at 97% with a 95% audience score; Turturro received a Gotham Award nomination last week, and the film won the Golden Eye Award at the Zurich Film Festival in September.
National Geographic's documentary Everest: The Other Side, from directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, debuted to $1 million at 515 locations. Imax grosses of $825,000 accounted for most of the opening. The filmmakers, who have been actively marketing the documentary, climbed to the top of a 12-story building on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, on Friday evening and rappelled down its side.
Netflix's World War II drama The Mosquito Bowl, directed by Peter Berg, opened to $455,000 on 349 screens. It is the streamer's second film released under a new box office reporting approach for certain projects. Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgard, Raymond Nicholson and Tom Francis star as college football players pulled from the height of their sports careers into Marine training and the Pacific theater. Netflix's awards contender La Bola Negra grossed $418,000 in week three for a cume of $1.2 million.
Among limited releases, Mubi's Fatherland, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski and starring Hans Zischler and Sandra Huller, grossed $122,000 at 45 theaters in week two for a cume of $250,500. Neon's documentary Once Upon A Time In Harlem, which is 100% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed $91,000 in week three on 15 screens for a $273,000 cume. NAZA, which the distributor recently picked up mid-theatrical run, had a $42,000 weekend on 80 screens for a $1.9 million cume in week five. Greenwich Entertainment's Queen At Sea, starring Juliette Binoche and the sophomore feature from Ballast writer-director Lance Hammer, opened to $10,000 at the Angelika Film Center in New York City. It won the Silver Bear Jury Prize and the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance, shared by Tom Courtenay and Anna Calder-Marshall, at its Berlin premiere.
New moderate and wide independent releases included Shloka Entertainments' Telugu-language action comedy Aadarsha Kutumbam House No: 47, which opened to $1.1 million at 400 locations. Roadside Attractions' Sight & Sound Presents: JOSHUA Live! opened to $758,000 on 1,230 screens. Briarcliff Entertainment's Christmas at the Kringles debuted at $675,000 at 1,825 locations. Samuel Goldwyn Films' The Mongoose, starring Liam Neeson and directed by Mark Vaneslow, debuted with $480,000 at 1,014 locations. Psychological horror Breeder from Independent Film Company and Shudder launched to an estimated $293,000 for the three-day weekend, for a cume including preview screenings of $566,000 on 777 screens.
Wide independent holdovers included A24's Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything, which took in over $10 million in its third weekend and passed $63 million. Laika's animated Wildwood from Fathom Entertainment is tracking toward a $7 million to $8 million second weekend on its way to surpassing $25 million. Black Bear's Wicker grossed $4.1 million from 2,374 theaters for a cume of $13.3 million; its week-two hold was down 28%, which the distributor said reflected the film broadening its older audience based on critical response and word of mouth while younger audiences continued to recommend it at higher rates than opening weekend. Focus Features' Sense & Sensibility grossed $1.4 million from 1,888 theaters in week two for a cume of $16.8 million.
Sources: Deadline.