Year in Review: Special Interest Box Office, 7 Categories
Sunday, December 29, 2019 at 2:59PM Our year in review party continues. Different lists each day. Here's Nathaniel R
We intended to kick off this list of "niche" box office categories with a list of the top grossers that were made for very little money but budget figures are hard to come by (consistently that is) and often difficult to parse. Is publicity and adveristing included? Back when I first started becoming interested in movies I was reading somewhere that a movie needed to make about 2.5 times its budget to break even. Who knows if that general rule is still accurate these days when the finances of the movie industry have shifted so dramatically and films often use their theatrical run as more of a commercial for their other runs (streaming, bluray, tv rights, etcetera).
But let it suffice to say that some movies made on the cheap made their investors very happy this year. Parasite, so far as we can gather, was made for about $11 million and its worldwide tally is at $161 million and still rising. It's already the 8th highest grossing Palme d'Or winner ever. That's a major success by any metric.
Elsewhere in crazy return on investment horror movies continue to be a safe investment, even the ambitious ones...
Now, on to 7 more concrete box office lists. What follows are top hits in interesting subcategories like "female director, "lgbtq films" and more. We tried our best to collect accurate data but we apologize in advance for any unintentional stumbles in these underrecorded/underdiscussed areas of moviemaking. It's also worth noting that for reasons we aren't quite sure about almost all US box office sites include Canadian figures (without any differentiation). We know for example that Xavier Dolan's latest didn't open in the US but it's included in all box office reports so we're including it here. This is also presumably why Bollywood films always report higher grosses than we expect, given their total lack of media coverage in the States, since Canadian figures are included.
(Figures below are as of March 12th, 2020)
TOP GROSSING FILMS THAT NEVER WENT INTO WIDE RELEASE IN THE US
We count 800 theaters as "wide" though some sites draw that line at 600 screens.
Last Black Man in San Francisco
01 No Manches Frida 2 (Pantelion, March 15th) $9.2 March 15th (472 screens)
02 Apollo 11 (Neon, March 1st) $9.0 (588 screens)
03 The Dead Don't Die (Focus) $6.5 (690 screens)
04 The Wandering Earth (CMC. Feb 5th) $5.8 (129 screens)
05 Gully Boy (Viva Pictures, Feb 14th) $5.5 (270 screens)
06 The Mustang (Focus. March 15th) $5.0 (527screens)...
07 Pavarotti (CBS Films, June 7th) $4.6 (288 screens)
08 Menteur (EOne, July 12th) $4.6 (89 screens)
09 War (Yash Raj Films, Oct 2nd) $4.6 (305 screens)
10 Pain & Glory (Sony Pictures Classics, Oct 4th) $4.5 (266 screens)
11 Last Black Man in San Francisco (A24, June 7th) $4.5 (207 screens)
12 Amazing Grace (Neon, April 5th) $4.4 (263 screens)
13 Biggest Little Farm (Neon, May 10th) $4.3 (285screens)
14 Linda Ronstadt... (Greenwich, Sept 6th) $4.2 (247 screens)
15 Uri: Surgical Strike (PackYourBag, Jan 11th) $4.1 (132 screens)
Runners Up: Ne Zha, Mission Mangal, Honey Boy, Oscar Nominated Shorts, Echo in the Canyon and Maiden. No other films that never went wide grossed over $3 million this year.
TOP GROSSING FILMS DIRECTED BY A WOMAN
(apologies if we missed someone)
Little Women
01 Frozen 2 $476.6 (Disney, Nov 22nd) co-directed by Jennifer Lee
02 Captain Marvel $426.8 (Disney/Marvel. March 8th) co-directed by Anna Boden
03 Little Women $108.0 (Sony Dec 25th) directed by Greta Gerwig
04 Hustlers $104.9 (STX, Sept 13th) directed by Lorena Scafaria
05 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood $61.7 (Sony, Nov 22nd) directed by Marielle Heller
05 Abominable $60.6 (Universal, Sept 27th) co-directed by Jill Culton
07 Queen & Slim $43.8 (Universal, Nov 27th) directed by Melina Matsoukas
08 Harriet $43.0 (Focus, Nov 1st) directed by Kasi Lemmons
09 Breakthrough $40.7 (Fox, April 17th) directed by Roxann Dawson
10 Little $40.6 (Universal, Apri 12th) directed by Tina Gordon
11 Booksmart $22.6 (United Artists., May 24th) directed by Olivia Wilde
12 Charlie's Angels $17.7 (Sony, Nov 15th) directed by Elizabeth Banks
13 The Farewell $17.6 (A24, July 12th) directed by Lulu Wang
14 Late Night $15.4 (Amazon, June 7th) directed by Nisha Ganatra
15 Miss Bala $15 (Sony. Feb 1st) directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Runners up: No other films crossed $15 million though Poms, After, The Kitchen, and Blinded by the Light all made over $10 million. Black Christmas, The Mustang, Gully Boy, The Sun is Also a Star, High Life , Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Honey Boy, and The Souvenir all crossed the $1 million mark.
TOP GROSSING FILMS DIRECTED BY A PERSON OF COLOR
(apologies if we missed someone)
Glass
01 Us $175 (March 22nd) directed by Jordan Peele
02 Glass $111 (Jan 18th) directed by M Night Shyamalan
03 Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral $73.2 (March 1st) directed by Tyler Perry
04 Men in Black International $65.1 (Sony/Columbia. June 14th) directed by F Gary Gray
05 Parasite (Neon, October 11th) $53.1 directed by Bong Joon Ho
06 Queen & Slim (Universal, Nov 27th) $43.8 directed by Melina Matsoukas.
07 Harriet $43.0 (Focus, Nov 1st) directed by Kasi Lemmons
08 Little $40.6 (April 12th) directed by Tina Gordon
09 Just Mercy (Warner Bros, Dec) $35.9 directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
10 The Intruder $35.2 (May 3rd) directed by Deon Taylor
11 Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight, October 18th) $33.3 directed by Taiki Waititi
12 Dragon Ball Super: Broly (FUNimation, Jan 16th) $30.7 directed by Tatsuya Nagamine
13 Shaft (Warner Bros, June 14th) $21.3 directed by Tim Story
Runners up: Unless we missed someone, The Farewell by Lulu Wang and Late Night by Nisha Ganatra are the only other films directed by a person of color to cross $10 million this year.
TOP GROSSING FILMS DIRECTED BY A MEMBER OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY
(apologies if we missed someone)
Ma
01 How To Train Your Dragon 3 (Universa, Feb 22nd) $160.7 directed by Dean DeBlois
02 Downton Abbey (Focus) $96.8 directed by Michael Engler
03 Midway (Lionsgate, Nov) $56.9 directed by Roland Emmerich
04 What Men Want (Paramount. Feb 8th) $54.6 directed by Adam Shankman
05 Ma (Universal, May 31st) $44.7 directed by Tate Taylor
06 The Good Liar (Nov 15th) $16.8 directed by Bill Condon
07 Missing Link (Focus) $16.6 directed by Chris Butler
08 Dark Waters (Focus, Nov 22nd) $11 directed by Todd Haynes
09 Pain and Glory (SPC, October 4th) $4.5 directed by Pedro Almodovar
10 Linda Ronstadt... (Greenwich, Sept 6th) $4.2 directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman
11 Matthias and Maxime (EOne, Oct 9th) $368k directed by Xavier Dolan
12 Giant Little Ones (Vertical, March 1st) $181k directed by Keith Behrman
13 Frankie (SPC, Oct 25th) $171K directed by Ira Sachs
14 Halston (The Orchard, June 2nd) $151k directed by Frédéric Tcheng.
15 The Death and Life of John F Donovan (Aug 23rd) $150k directed by Xavier Dolan
16 Invisible Life (Amazon, Dec 20th) $146k directed by Karim Anouz
17 Papi Chulo (BlueFox, June 7th) $84k directed by John Butler.
18 End of the Century (Cinema Guild, Aug 16th) $66k directed by Lucio Castro
19 By the Grace of God (Music Box Films, Oct 18th) $65k directed by François Ozon
20 Killer Unicorn (Indican, June 14th) $33k directed by Jose Alvarez.
21 Knife + Heart (AI, March 15th) $32k directed by Yann Gonzalez.
22 Sorry Angel (Strand, Feb 15th) $30k directed by Christophe Honoré
23 The Gospel of Eureka (Kino Lorber, Feb 8th) $20k directed by Donal Mosher & Michael Palmieri
NOTE: Celine Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire had a one week qualifying release but will reopen in 2020. No other films released in the US (that we're aware of) were directed by an out member of the LGBTQ community in 2019.
TOP GROSSING FILMS WITH QUEER CONTENT
A DEBATABLE LIST (apologies if we missed something)
Rocketman
02 Rocketman $96.3 (Paramount, May 31st) -gay biopic
03 Isn't it Romantic? $48.7 (Warner Bros, Feb 13th)- gay best friend comedy trope
04 Judy $23.9 (Roadise, Sept 27th) - intense gay identification/fandom
05 Booksmart $22.6 (United Artists, May 24th) -lesbian protagonist
06 Charlie's Angels $17.7 (Sony, Nov 15th) -queer protagonist
07 The Lighthouse $10.7 (A24, Oct 18th) - subtextually homo
08 Greta $10.5 (Focus, March 1st) -subtextually sapphic
09 Pain and Glory $4.5 (SPC, Oct 4th) -gay protagonist
10 The White Crow $1.8 (SPC, April 26th) -bisexual protagonist
11 Climax $817k (A24, March 1st) -pansexual
14 Giant Little Ones $181k (Vertical Entertainment, March 1st) -sexual fluidity
15 Halston $151k (Orchard, May 24th). - gay biodoc
16 The Death and Life of John F Donovan $150k (EOne, Aug 23rd) -gay protagonist
Runners up: Mapplethorpe , Rafiki, The Heiresses, Sauvage/Wild, Diamantino, The Death and Life of John F Donovan, Halston, Sorry Angel, End of the Century, The Gospel of Eureka, Papi Chulo, Knife + Heart, Killer Unicorn, and Touch Me Not . No other queer films that we know of were theatrically released in the US in 2019 though Portrait of a Lady on Fire received a one-week qualifying release only and grossed $118k which is pretty great for a single week. They should have kept it in theaters and started the expansion process.
TOP GROSSING FILM WITH AN OUT QUEER ACTOR IN THE LEAD
apologies if we missed any
The Good Liar
01 Booksmart starring Beanie Feldstein $22.6
02 Charlies Angels starring Kristen Stewart $17.6
03 The Good Liar starring Sir Ian McKellen $16.8
04 Matthias & Maxime starring Xavier Dolan $368k
05 Papi Chulo starring Matt Bomer $84k
06 Sauvage/Wild starring Felix Maritaud $61k
Those are the only films we're aware of (that reported grosses) unless you want to count that one week release of Portrait of a Lady on Fire starring Adele Haenel which grossed a super $118k before being pulled from theaters. Though out actors are working on a far more regular basis (progress!) it's still fairly rare to see them in leading roles (lack of progress) most maddeningly even if the character is gay.
TOP GROSSING MOVIES WITH META-CRITIC SCORES OF 80+
Booksmart
01 Toy Story 4 $433.9 (Disney/Pixar) June 21st. Metacritic score of 84
02 Us $175 (Universal) March 22nd. Metacritic score of 81
03 Knives Out $165.2 (Lionsgate) Metacritic score of 82
04 1917 $158.9 (Universal) Metacritic score of 82
05 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood $142.5 (Sony) Metacritic score of 83
06 Ford V Ferrari $117.6 (Fox) Metacritic score of 81
07 Little Women $108.0 (Sony) Dec 25th. Metacritic score of 91
08 A Beautiful Day in... $61.7 (Sony) Metacritic score of 81
09 Parasite $53.1 (Neon) Oct 11th. Metacritic score of 96
10 Ad Astra $50 (Fox) Sept 10th. Metacritic score of 80
11 Uncut Gems $50.0 (A24) Metacritic score of 89
12 Booksmart $22.6 (United Artists) May 24th. Metacritic score of 84
13 The Farewell $17.6 (A24) Metacritic score of 89.
14 The Lighthouse $10.8 (A24) Oct 18th. Metacritic score of 83
15 Apollo 11 $8.9 (Neon) March 1st. Metacritic score of 90
16 Gloria Bell $5.6 (A24) March 8th. Metacritic score of 80
17 Pain and Glory $4.5 (SPC, Oct 4th). Metacritic score of 88
18 Amazing Grace $4.4 (Neon). April 5th. Metacritic score of 92
19 The Last Black Man in... $1.9 (A24) June 7th. Metacritic score of 84
20 Waves $1.5 (A24) Metacritic score of 81
21 The Souvenir $1.0 (A24) May 17th. Metacritic score of 92
Runners up: Films that grossed under $1 million but received metacritic scores over 80 include Woman at War, Transit, One Child Nation , End of the Century. Honeyland, The Cave, For Sama, Birds of Passage, Shadow, The River and The Wall, Carmine Street Guitars, In Fabric, Midnight Family, 63 Up, Invisible Life, An Elephant Sitting Still, Wild Pear Tree, Wrestle, The Proposal, Black Mother, The Chambermaid, Fiddler: Miracle of Miracles, Aquarela, Chinese Portrait, Making Waves the Art of Cinematic Sound, Varda By Agnes, Cunningham, David Crosby Remember My Name, Toni Morrison: Pieces I Am and Synonyms. No other films that we know of that were theatrically released and reported box office in the year's first half had Metacritic scores of 80+
What do you make of the success or lack of it for these special distinctions in 2019 thus far?
Reader Comments (10)
Neon completely mishandled PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE and CLEMENCY. It makes me so angry.
Justice for Adèle and Alfre.
Promare's as subtextually homo as The Lighthouse is (https://www.cbr.com/promare-the-lighthouse-queer-cinema/) and made $2.2 million.
For queer lead actors, there's also Maleficent 2 (Angelina Jolie is bi).
I had no ideat that Beanie Feldstein was gay so I went to her IMDB page and now I also know that Jonah Hill is her brother!
^This. I love when small distributors think they can eke out a nomination at the last minute...
I had somehow missed that Ma was directed by Tate Taylor. Weird!
Really interesting... thanks for all your work compiling these lists.
"Giant Little Ones" is very good and should be seen by more folks!
Gemini Man (Ang Lee) and Alita: Battle Angel (Robert Rodriguez) both probably belong on the Directors of Color list.
The Farewell belongs as a runner-up in the "person of color" list.
HOWWWWW was Booksmart not a huge hit???? It was brilliant. What went wrong there?
Killer Unicorn is directed by Drew Bolton, Jose Alvarez is credited as Actor, Writer and Producer of the film