SPECIALTY BOX OFFICE: Licorice Pizza Cracks Top 10 in Expansion, Parallel Mothers Scores Second-Best PSA of Christmas Weekend

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza (United Artists Releasing) expanded to 786 runs in 133 markets in North America on Christmas Day. The film originally opened in platform release over the Thanksgiving holiday, holding exclusive engagements in four 70mm auditoriums in New York and Los Angeles over its first four weeks in the market. With the expansion, the film earned $1.22 million on Saturday and dropped only 10 percent on Sunday to finish the three-day weekend with a $2.32 million haul. Licorice Pizza has now earned a total of $3.66 million in North America. The majority (66%) of its audience throughout the North American release has been between the ages of 18 and 34.

Reliance Entertainment scored one of the highest per-screen averages of the three-day frame with the Hindi title 83. The sports movie opened on 481 screens in North America, grossing $1.76 million over the weekend for a $3,662 average and cracking the weekend’s top ten.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures) dropped 53% in its sophomore frame, earning $1.3 million from 2,135 screens. The title was overshadowed by opening against Spider-Man: No Way Home last weekend, struggling to gain traction over its first hold in a crowded Christmas market. the domestic run for Nightmare Alley currently stands at $5.4 million.

Sean Baker’s Red Rocket (A24) expanded to 377 screens on Christmas Day, finishing the three-day frame with a $150k tally. The film received a platform debut on 6 screens on December 10, going to expand to 16 locations last weekend. The holiday weekend puts the film’s domestic cume at $372k.

Read our interview with Red Rocket director Sean Baker.

Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers (Sony Pictures Classics) began its run in North America with $41k from 3 screens, giving it a per-screen average of $13,692. The title’s performance in platform release finished second in per-screen average for the weekend, only behind Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film began its release in select European markets in October, where it is already approaching the $10 million mark.

Read our interview with Parallel Mothers director Pedro Almodóvar.

Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (Searchlight Pictures) is winding down its North American run after grossing $40k from 70 locations over the three-day weekend, its tenth in release. The film has earned a total of $15.92 million domestically, ranking between 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited ($12M) and 1998’s Rushmore ($17M).

Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (Apple/A24) opened in 12 markets over the weekend. Apple and A24 did not provide box office figures, as has become customary of streaming titles, but did report “multiple sellouts” in the film’s opening weekend. The film will continue its overseas rollout in the coming weeks, with its streaming debut on Apple TV+ scheduled for January 14.

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