Seven independent films made their box office debuts this weekend, and the news was good — for four of them.
Indomina's "The Imposter" (photo above) played on just one screen but made the most of it. The Sundance documentary about a young Frenchman who convinces a Texas family he is their missing 16-year-old son took in $20,643.
The Cohen Media group bowed "Farewell My Queen" in four theaters and Benoit Jacqot's tale of Marie Antoinette's relationship with one of her aides made $72,123, an $18,007 per-screen average.
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The Weinstein Company debuted "Easy Money," a Swedish crime thriller directed by Daniel Espinosa and based on the international best-selling novel "Snabba Cash" by Jens Lapidus. It took in $23,784 for an $11,892 average.
"Trishna," from Sundance Selects, brought in $30,600 from three screens, a $10,200 per-screen average for Michael Winterbottom's tale of love between a developer's son and the daughter of a rickshaw owner in India. Freida Pinto stars.
Arc Entertainment's "The Obama Effect," written by, directed and starring Charles S. Dutton, raised $73,000 from 25 screens, a soft $2,920 per-screen average.
Millennium Entertainment's "Red Lights," starring Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro and Elizabeth Olsen, brought in $10,011 from two screens.
"The Alps," a Kino Lorber release, made $3,000 from a single screen in its debut.
Among holdovers, Fox Searchlight's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" successfully expanded from 19 to 81 theaters, taking in $775,290 for a $9,571 per-screen average.
"The good word of mouth should propel the picture as we continue to increase the overall number of theaters," said Frank Rodriguez, sr. vp of domestic distribution at Fox Searchlight. "Beasts" will expand into 22 more markets next week.
Sony Classics and Woody Allen's "To Rome With Love" made $2,539 on 744 screens — down from 806 last week — upping its overall U.S. gross to $8.6 million.
Rob Reiner's "The Magic of Belle Isle" managed $8,000 from five screens in its second week, a $1,600 per-screen average.