‘Hadestown: The Musical’ Sings With $9.7M Debut, No. 4 Spot, ‘Motor City’ Powers Up As Indies Fuel Top Ten – Specialty Box Office

Bleecker Street’s Hadestown: The Musical swept to the second biggest opening for a live show capture since Hamilton, pushing $9.7 million in a terrific debut on 1,949 screens. Due to “extraordinary response and demand,” the distributor said its new event cinema label Crosswalk and partner LD Entertainment are expanding the initial five-day run and continuing to add dates and showtimes.

The film is Certified Fresh with a 99% audience score. The stage production, written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, won eight Tony Awards in 2019 including Best Musical, and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

The film version directed by Brett Sullivan was captured from the West End production and features the original principal cast.

Crosswalk previously had success with concert documentary Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience earlier this year. Its next scheduled release is George Michael: The Faith Tour later this year.

Motor City from Independent Film Company is no. 9 with a solid $1.6 million at 1,600 theaters. Potsy Ponciroli’s 1970s Detroit-set revenge drama stars Alan Ritchson.

Noting that The Invite is no. 6, Young Washington no. 8 and Obsession no. 10 – putting five indies atop the domestic box office.

Neon’s Her Private Hell by Nicolas Winding Refn opened to $530k on 675 screens.

The distributor’s Sheep In The Box by Hirokazu Koreeda’s is eyeing $33k from 3 screens.

Cyril Aris’ from Watermelon Pictures debuted to $9k at the Quad in NYC with limited showings, reporting multiple sellouts.

American Pachuco: The Legend Of Luis Valdez added a dozen theaters across the Los Angeles area in week 2 while continuing its run at the Film Forum in New York. The Insignia Films release directed by David Alvarado, with booking support from mTuckman media, is estimated to gross $32.3k on 13 screens this weekend for a cume of $41.4k. Alvarado and subjects Luis Valdez and Lou Diamond Phillips appeared at select shows, all of which quickly sold out, and, additional Q&As were added to meet demand at select theaters. The winner of the Sundance Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and Festival Favorite Award, is also mounting an Awards campaign. It moves to the San Francisco Bay area next weekend.

Greenwich Entertainment’s Reading Lolita in Tehran grossed $47.5k at 13 locations in week 2 for a $73.5k cume.