Neon's Cannes Palme d'Or winner Fjord, starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, opened to a strong $124k across four screens in New York and Los Angeles. The film marks director Cristian Mungiu's second Palme d'Or and extends Neon's streak to seven consecutive Palme d'Or wins. Fjord also captured the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes and has been selected as Romania's entry for Best International Feature at the Oscars. It is Certified Fresh at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The story centers on the Gheorghius, a devout Romanian Norwegian couple who resettle in a village in a distant fjord and grow close to their neighbors, the Halbergs, as their children form a bond. Tensions emerge when adolescent Elia Gheorghiu arrives at school with bruises, prompting the community to question the family's traditional approach to educating their children.
Exhibitors noted that several figures reflect four-day estimates to account for Monday's Columbus Day holiday.
Naza Expands Nationwide
The documentary Naza posted a strong second week, following a $125k haul over its first eight days exclusively at New York's IFC Center. The film broadened to 85 engagements across more than 30 markets, pulling in an estimated $298k over the three-day weekend and $378.2k over the four-day frame, lifting its total cume to $504,074. Released independently with backing from The Guardian and MK2, Naza features interviews with Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers, their identities concealed, discussing the civilian death toll in Gaza. The film will continue expanding through October.
Misty Green and Musk
Chris Rock's Misty Green, released by A24, launched on six screens in New York and Los Angeles, taking in $85.7k over the three-day weekend and $98.7k over four days. The film stars Rosalind Eleazar as a talented actress fighting for her second act in Hollywood, alongside a cast that includes Daniel Kaluuya, Adam Driver, Anna Kendrick and Rock himself. It has drawn praise since premiering at TIFF and is set to expand selectively into top markets this weekend.
Bleecker Street's Musk, Alex Gibney's documentary that premiered in Venice, is eyeing roughly $70k over the three-day weekend from four screens, for a per-theater average of $17.2k. Its near four-hour runtime has limited the number of available showtimes.
My Undesirable Friends and Holdovers
Julia Loktev's My Undesirable Friends Part II – Exile opened exclusively at New York's Film Forum this weekend, estimated to gross $7.5k, a figure limited by its six-hour runtime and the venue's 100-seat capacity. It follows Part I, released last year, which was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar and won Best Non-Fiction Film honors from both the NYFCC and LAFCC. Released independently with support from Cinetic and mTuckman media, the Venice and Telluride selection opens in Los Angeles on October 16 before expanding to additional markets through the fall.
Holdover If I Go Will They Miss Me, starring Danielle Brooks and J Alphonse Nicholson and directed by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, is estimated to gross $29.6k from 42 screens in its fifth week, pushing its cume to $980.7k. The Rich Spirit release, Certified Fresh at 95%, will continue playing exclusively in theaters in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere, Fathom Entertainment's release of Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth 20th Anniversary ranked No. 11 at the domestic box office with an estimated $1.66 million from 1,168 locations. The 2006 film, starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú and Doug Jones, follows a young girl in postwar Spain who discovers a mysterious labyrinth and a magical world while living under her brutal stepfather's rule. Trafalgar Releasing's concert film Queen Budapest, capturing the band's 1986 stadium performance in Budapest during the Magic Tour, placed No. 16 with an estimated $681k from 312 locations. The restored film, directed by János Zsombolyai, features Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.
Photo: U.S. Embassy Romania from Bucharest, Romania, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
