The indie/arthouse market shows some breadth, with Kneecap having a great debut, CatVidoFest too, and stayers like Didi and Sing Sing are raking it in a bit, given how few screens they have. As more wide releases and tentpoles appear and take off, a rising tide could lift indie boats – perhaps not by as much or as much as distributors hope, but still some.
KNEECAP Red Band Trailer (Ireland/UK) – In Irish cinemas August 8th
Theater chain CEOs insisted during quarterly earnings calls last week that they need all kinds of movies, and that's what they're getting, including Indian specialties that are still going strong in theaters. Daru Na Peenda Hove , a Punjabi film from Rhythm Boyz Entertainment, is No. 9 this weekend, according to Comscore, with a $616,000 gross from 118 screens.
Sony Pictures Classics' Kneecap led new indie openings with $492.4k on 703 screens. The music biopic is playing at arthouses and multiplexes, reaching younger demos and music fans of the Belfast hip-hop trio that raps in Irish. The film stars all three members of Kneecap — Naoise Ó Cairealláin "Móglaí Bap," Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh "Mo Chara" and JJ Ó Dochartaigh "Dj Provaí" — as themselves, with additional actors (Michael Fassbender plays Cairealláin's father).
The group has been staging screenings across the country for weeks, and the social media-heavy marketing push is one of SPC's largest. Written and directed by Rich Peppiat.
