"To Rome With Love" had a strong debut in limited release this weekend.

Ellen Page and Jesse Eisenberg star in "To Rome With Love." (Sony Pictures Classics / June 24, 2012)

By Amy Kaufman

June 24, 2012, 10:00 a.m.

Woody Allen is on a roll at the box office, as the prolific filmmaker's latest movie looks to follow in the footsteps of his last hit,"Midnight in Paris."

This weekend, Allen's new film, "To Rome With Love," premiered with $379,371, playing in five theaters and averaging $75,874 in each, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures Classics. That's the second-highest per-screen average of 2012, behind only Wes Anderson's"Moonrise Kingdom," which averaged $130,749 when it opened in four theaters last month.

Allen is coming off the success of last summer's "Midnight in Paris," which ended up being the biggest box office success of the writer-director's career -- not adjusting for inflation. The film earned a best picture nomination at the Academy Awards in February and ultimately grossed $56.8 million domestically. 

"Midnight in Paris" started off with a slightly higher per-theater average than "To Rome With Love" -- $99,834 -- and also earned far more positive critical reviews. Still, Sony Pictures Classics Co-President Michael Barker is optimistic the film will end up being another box office smash for Allen.

“People are ready to come to another Woody movie because the last one was so successful,” Barker said. “We saw a lot of couples in their 20s at the movie this year, which is a result of the success of ‘Midnight in Paris.’ A lot of younger people who weren’t familiar with him became familiar with him, and now they’re ready to see his next film.”

“To Rome With Love” will expand to more than 600 theaters on July 6.

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