ShortsTV and Magnolia Pictures brought the Oscar-nominated short films in the live-action, animated and documentary categories to theaters this weekend, making $615,000 from 180 screens for a per screen average of $3,416.
Though the animated category had some star power with Kobe Bryant’s “Dear Basketball,” this result is still 7 percent down from last year’s Oscar shorts, which made $660,000 in their opening and went on to gross $2.8 million.
Meanwhile, Focus Features’ “Darkest Hour” hit the $50 million milestone in its 12th week, adding $1.5 million for a $51.4 million total. Fox Searchlight’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” crossed the $45 million mark with $2.2 million in its 14th weekend, while NEON/30WEST’s “I, Tonya” crossed $25 million with $1.5 million in its 10th weekend. In the foreign language category, Sony Pictures Classics’ “A Fantastic Woman” expanded to 20 screens, making $121,000 in its second weekend for a 10-day total of just under $233,000.
“Lady Bird” made less than $1 million in a weekend for the first time in two months, grossing $934,000 as it also crossed the $45 million mark, while dropping 458 screens. “Phantom Thread” shed 628 screens, making $1.1 million for a $16.3 million total. In all, every Oscar contender currently in more than 1,000 screens lost 450 screens or more this weekend.
Outside of the awards season, Vertical Entertainment released the 2017 Sundance film “Golden Exits” for a single screen engagement in New York, making $12,210. The top grossing limited release was Fathom Events’ screening of the Met Opera’s performance of “L’Elsir D’Amore,” which made $1.1 million on 900 screens.