For moviegoers looking for an alternative to “Despicable Me 2” and “The Lone Ranger” over the July 4 weekend, a handful of independent movies will debut at the specialty box office on Friday.
Fox Searchlight’s coming-of-age tale “The Way, Way Back” is written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash and stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Sam Rockwell and newcomer Liam James.
It’s the tale of a 14-year-old (James) forced to go on summer vacation with his mother (Collette), her overbearing boyfriend (Carrell) and his daughter (AnnaSophia Robb), who finds a pal in a waterpark manager (Rockwell).
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It will open in 19 theaters in eight major markets this weekend, and Fox Searchlight senior vice-president Frank Rodriguez said Wednesday that the plan was to add 13 more markets and move up to 75-80 locations next week, 200-250 theaters the following week and look at a national release in the 700-750 range for July 26.
Millennium Entertainment is opening R-rated romantic comedy “Stuck in Love,” starring Greg Kinnear, Kristen Bell, Lily Collins, Jennifer Connelly and Logan Lerman, in 21 theaters this weekend, ahead of a nationwide release on July 26.
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Writer-director Josh Boone makes his feature debut with “Stuck in Love.” Kinnear plays a novelist who can’t stop obsessing over his ex-wife (Connelly) while dealing with his neighbor-with-benefits (Bell) and fiercely independent collegiate daughter (Collins).
Also debuting Friday is “The Look of Love,” a British biopic directed by Michael Winterbottom in which comedian Steve Coogan plays Paul Raymond, an English entrepreneur who opened the country's first strip club in London in 1958 and went on to become one of the U.K.'s richest men. Imogen Poots and Anna Friel co-star. IFC Films has it in three theaters this weekend.
Magnolia Films is rolling out “Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me” in limited release. It’s a feature-length documentary directed by Drew DeNicola that examines the 1970s Memphis rock band “Big Star.” They put out three albums that were all commercial failures, but subsequently found massive critical acclaim and became a cult phenomenon.