Indie Box Office: ‘The Descendants’ Passes $70M

In its 13th week of release, the Oscar-nominated “The Descendants” is one of the top 10 movies in North America, grossing $3.5M over the weekend

In its 13th week of release, "The Descendants" continued its strong run at the box office this weekend, taking in $3.5 million — enough to put it No. 9 in North America.

Alexander Payne's R-rated film, nominated for five Oscars, has now grossed $70.7 million, and is about to surpass "Sideways" as Fox Searchlight's fourth highest-grossing movie ever — and as the director's highest-grossing movie ever. That movie grossed $71.5 million domestically.

It is extremely rare for a movie to be in the top 10 after 13 weeks.

"These things just don't happen," Sheila DeLoach, Fox Searchlight's executive VP for distribution, told TheWrap Sunday afternoon. "Even Academy Award-nominated movies just don't last that long."

Also read: George Clooney Lacked Confidence? How 'The Descendants' Helped Him Grow Up

The movie played on 1,581 screens, for an average of $2,214.

"The audience just loves the story, and loves George Clooney, of course," DeLoach said. Clooney was nominated for best actor for his role in the movie about a land baron whose wife is seriously injured in a diving accident.

It was the only best picture nominee in the top 10.

The Weinstein Company's "The Artist," also nominated for best picture, grossed $2.3 million in its 12th weekend of release, for a total of $24 million.

This weekend's new specialty releases  included the animated love story "Chico & Rita," from GKIDS, opening to $21,724 on one screen, according to Rentrak. That gave it the best per-location average of any movie this weekend.

The movie is nominated for an Academy Award for best animated picture.

Also read: Poorly Drawn ‘Chico & Rita’: Color It Another Oscar Mistake

"Rampart," from Millennium Entertainment, took $65,109 on five screens, Rentrak shows. That's a per-screen average of $13,021 for Oren Moverman's R-rated drama about a renegade cop in Los Angeles in 1999.

"In Darkness," nominated for the best foreign language film Oscar, opened at three locations. The Polish language film released by Sony Pictures Classics grossed $27,563, according to Rentrak. That's $9,188 per location. 

In its second week, The Weinstein Company's "W.E.," directed by Madonna, expanded from four locations to 17, taking in $57,660 — a per-location average of $3,392. The movie now has grossed $121,807. 

"Albert Nobbs," from Roadside Attractions, took $279,000 in its third week of release. The movie, which earned three Academy Award nominations, including one for star Glenn Close, has grossed a total of $2 million.

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