Shia LaBeouf is the man of the moment at the specialty box office.
Honey Boy — a coming-of-age drama that LaBeouf wrote, based on his own childhood — posted one of the five best opening location averages ($72,206) at the 2019 specialty box office so far upon launching in four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles over the weekend.
The film debuts in the wake of LaBeouf’s The Peanut Butter Falcon, which has earned $21 million to become the No. 2 platform release of the year behind Judy ($23.3 million). Both titles are from Roadside Attractions.
Directed by Alma Har’el, Honey Boy stars LaBeouf opposite Lucas Hedges. Amazon Studios picked up the critically acclaimed pic out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will give it a slow rollout as awards season gets underway in earnest.
Honey Boy won’t expand nationwide until after Golden Globe nominations are announced on Dec. 8.
“This weekend’s tremendous per-screen opening is very encouraging and shows Honey Boy has the legs and potential to find a wider audience in the weeks to follow,” says Julie Rapaport, co-head of movies at Amazon Studios.
Elsewhere, Lauren Greenfield’s Imelda Marcos documentary The Kingmaker opened in two theaters in New York and L.A. The film, from Showtime and distributed theatrically by Greenwich Entertainment, posted a promising location average of $11,800.
Among holdovers, Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet came in No. 8 in its second weekend of nationwide release, earning $7.2 million for a 10-day domestic total of $23.5 million for Focus Features.
In its fourth weekend, Taika Watiti’s Jojo Rabbit made its biggest push yet as it expanded into a total of 802 theaters. The irreverent Fox Searchlight comedy landed at No. 11 with $3.9 million for a domestic tally of $9.1 million.
Boog Joon Ho and Neon’s Parasite, now playing in 603 cinemas, wasn’t far behind in its fifth weekend with $2.6 million for a domestic total of $11.3 million, a dazzling number for a foreign-language specialty film.
A24’s The Lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, began slowing down in its fourth weekend as it expanded into a total of 683 locations, grossing $901,000 for a $8.9 million cume.
