Key Points
- Black Bear's $2.5 million Sundance buy 'Wicker' has grossed $15.9 million and is heading past $20 million.
- The studio had projected the film would finish between $5 million and $7 million total.
- The result rescues Black Bear's young US distribution arm after a run of box office misses.
The latest:
A $2.5 million festival acquisition has turned into Black Bear’s biggest distribution win, with ‘Wicker’ standing at $15.9 million through Wednesday and on course to clear $20 million next week, Page Six Hollywood reported. The Teddy Schwarzman-led studio had modeled a $5 million to $7 million lifetime gross. It is now mounting an awards campaign for stars Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard.
Details:
- The numbers: ‘Wicker’ opened to $5.7 million across more than 1,400 screens, then added $4.4 million in its second weekend after expanding to 2,300 screens, according to Page Six Hollywood. The cumulative $15.9 million through Wednesday already more than doubles the high end of Black Bear’s own internal projection.
- The deal: Black Bear paid $2.5 million for the film at Sundance, Page Six Hollywood reported. It was the 15-year-old studio’s first-ever US acquisition, making the title a test case for a distribution business the outlet described as nascent and coming off a string of box office disappointments.
- The premise: Colman plays a lonely fisherwoman who has an affair with a man made from a wicker basket, played by Skarsgard. The high-concept logline did not stop the film from drawing what the outlet characterized as strong word of mouth and a Rotten Tomatoes score in the 90s.
- The awards push: Black Bear is campaigning Colman and Skarsgard for acting nominations and is also targeting the crafts categories, per Page Six Hollywood. The outlet noted both leads are indie favorites well liked by Academy voters. No specific campaign budget or category strategy beyond that was disclosed.
- The track record: The studio came close last year, narrowly missing an Oscar with ‘Train Dreams.’ A second consecutive year in contention would mark a shift for a company better known as a financier than as an awards-season distributor.
- The pedigree: ‘Wicker’ comes from Tango and Topic Studios, Page Six Hollywood reported. Topic also backed festival titles ‘The Debut’ and ‘Club Kid,’ as well as last year’s ‘A Real Pain,’ which won Kieran Culkin the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
- The premium play: The film secured a limited run on roughly 80 4DX screens, originally planned as a single day before being extended to a full week, according to the outlet, an unusual format slot for a specialty title.
- The competition: Three new releases arrive this weekend, including ‘Godzilla Minus Zero,’ which is expected to open at No. 1, alongside ‘Club Kid’ and the animated ‘Cat in the Hat.’ ‘Wicker’ is expected to stay in theaters through most of November.
Between the lines:
The gap between a $5 million to $7 million projection and a likely $20-plus million finish is the real story for Black Bear. A studio that paid $2.5 million for its first US acquisition now has both a profitable title and a credentialed awards vehicle, which makes the next Sundance buying season the better measure of whether this was a strategy or a single lucky pickup.
What’s next
Watch this weekend’s grosses against three new wide releases, whether ‘Wicker’ crosses $20 million next week as projected, and whether Colman and Skarsgard convert the campaign into nominations.
