Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," the opening film at this year's Cannes Film Festival, made a splash in its limited U.S. opening.
Focus Features debuted the movie in four New York and L.A. theaters where it took in $669,486 for an eye-popping $167,371 per-screen average. Anderson directs the film he wrote with Roman Coppola and produced with Scott Rudin.
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Set in the 1960s, the film chronicles two tween lovers who flee their New England island town and the search that ensues. The ensemble cast features Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Ed Norton, Frances McDormand and Jason Schwartzman.
The studio cited the per-screen number as the best ever for a live-action feature in a regular theatrical run, topping the $126,317 opening weekend average rung up at three theaters by "Dreamgirls" in 2006.
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“'Moonrise' is a story of love’s improbable triumph, and for Wes Anderson and his team a labor of love from start to finish," said Focus CEO James Schamus in a statement. "How wonderful it is to congratulate him, on behalf of everyone at Focus, for this remarkable, record-breaking opening.”
Focus, which holds worldwide rights to the movie, plans to add theaters nationwide through June.
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The Weinstein Co. is off to a solid start with "The Intouchables," a foreign market blockbuster that has already rung up $343 million globally. It brought in $28,704 from four theaters in its U.S. debut, a $7,176 per-screen average.
"This is good start for a film in French in the summer marketplace," Erik Loomis, head of distribution for the Weinstein Co., told TheWrap Sunday. "We know we have a film people will like, it's just a matter of getting the word out."
Fox Searchlight's "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" continued to play strongly, raking in $8.2 million from 1,233 theaters over the four days and upping its overall domestic gross to $18.4 million and its worldwide total to $78.8 million.