Specialized box office: Late summer hits and misses

As the eye-popping blockbusters of summer gradually give way to the prestige pictures and awards-season hopefuls of fall and winter, there comes an annual fallow period at the multiplex. Last week saw only two new movies in wide release (“As Above, So Below” and “The November Man”), and this week there’s only one (“The Identical”).

Given the lull in mainstream releases, it seems an opportune time to examine some recent indie and art house offerings that could break out — in the vein of, say, “Chef” ($30.7 million) “Begin Again” ($15.7 million) and “Boyhood” ($18.9 million) — or just break down. (Numbers are according to Box Office Mojo throughout)

“Love Is Strange” (Aug. 22)
Opening weekend: $117,276 in five theaters ($23,455 per-screen average). Domestic total to date: $555,705.

Directed by Ira Sachs, this romantic drama stars Alfred Molina and John Lithgow as a longtime gay couple who find their lives thrown into turmoil when they finally get married. “Love Is Strange” garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews and had the highest per-screen average of any film in theaters during its opening weekend. The movie added 22 theaters in its second week and will expand to additional markets in the coming weeks.

“Calvary” (Aug. 1)
Opening weekend: $74,149 in four theaters ($18,537 per-screen average). Domestic total to date: $2.6 million.

Another film that premiered at Sundance (along with “Love Is Strange”), John Michael McDonagh’s “Calvary” notched the second-highest per-screen average of its opening week, behind only the box-office powerhouse “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The film has received strong reviews, with many critics praising Brendan Gleeson’s lead role as a small-town Irish priest who’s told he will be killed in one week’s time. The film has also crossed the $10-million mark at the worldwide box office.

“Frank” (Aug. 15)
Opening weekend: $16,056 in one theater ($16,056 per-screen average). Domestic total to date: $317,220.

Lenny Abrahamson’s comedy-drama stars Michael Fassbender as an eccentric band leader who never ceases to wear a giant papier-mache head. Like Gleeson and “Cavalry,” Fassbender and “Frank” have received strong notices. The film has expanded to 52 theaters. While it clearly won’t come anywhere near Fassbender’s blockbuster “X-Men” appearances, or even his art house efforts like “Shame” and “12 Years a Slave,” “Frank” could earn Fassbender some cult fans for his gonzo performance.

“The Last of Robin Hood” (Aug. 29)
Opening weekend: $25,821 in two theaters ($12,911 per-screen average). Domestic total to date: $43,673.

Starring Kevin Kline and Dakota Fanning, this biographical drama about the last days of Errol Flynn, during which he engaged in a scandalous affair with an underage starlet, opened to solid numbers in two theaters. But the movie, which is co-written and co-directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, was largely panned by critics, which could limit its future prospects.

“Cantinflas” (Aug. 29)
Opening weekend: $2.6 million in 382 theaters ($6,967 per-screen average). Domestic total to date: $3.7 million.

Sebastian del Amo’s Spanish-language biopic about the Mexican film star known as Cantinflas debuted with a strong $2.6 million last weekend ($3.3 million including Monday’s holiday). “Cantinflas” is the latest release from Pantelion, which targets Latino audiences in the U.S. This time last year, the company scored an even larger success with “Instructions Not Included.”

“Life After Beth” (Aug. 15)
Opening weekend: $15,843 in two theaters ($7,922 per-screen average). Domestic total to date: $66,075.

Although this “rom-com-zom-dram” boasts two rising stars in Aubrey Plaza and Dane DeHaan, it has stumbled, somewhat zombie-like, at the box office, where it has tallied less than six figures. The movie was made available on demand on DirecTV a month before it hit theaters, but that didn’t seem to give it much of a boost. Still, the genre-bending movie may find a second life on VOD.

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