Amy Winehouse, 2007 Lollapalooza
AP ImagesNot for the first time, Amy Winehouse is breaking chart records.
Amy, Asif Kapadia’s critically acclaimed documentary chronicling the life and death of the late British singer, had the most successful debut of any U.K. documentary ever this weekend.
The film — which bowed in Cannes to high praise and has since screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival and in Glastonbury — scored just north of $800,000, giving it the biggest opening for a homegrown doc in Britain and the second-biggest doc opening ever in the country (with the exception of concert films) after Michael Moore’s 2004 hit Fahrenheit 9/11.
The film, which is expanding from 133 cinemas in the U.K. to more than 200 this week, has already become the highest-grossing documentary of 2015 and has surpassed Kapadia’s 2010 film Senna, which grossed $580,000 during its opening weekend.
“We are thrilled that audiences have come out en masse during a period of exceptionally fine weather to see Amy,” said Hamish Moseley, head of distribution at Altitude, which is handling the release. “It is testament to not only an incredible film from some of the U.K’s leading filmmakers, but also to the unique talent and enormous lasting appeal of Amy Winehouse — we are delighted that audiences have chosen to celebrate the life of the truly talented musical icon.”
Amy had a limited simultaneous release in the U.S., opening in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles to $222,015 for a $37,002 location average. U.S. distributor A24 is taking the film nationwide this weekend.
