(MENAFN- Arab Times) LOS ANGELES Aug 12 (Agencies): James Cameron may be 'King of the World' at the box office but that plainly doesn't hold true when it comes to documentaries. 'James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge 3D' opened in 304 theaters to a soggy $147000 this weekend. That's a puny $485 per-screen average for the chronicle of the mini-sub journey to the ocean's deepest depths by Cameron the man behind the two highest-grossing movies of all time 'Avatar' and 'Titanic.' No one expected the documentary from indie distributor DisruptiveLA to match the numbers those films put up of course but the 'Deepsea Challenge' showing is still disappointing given Cameron's name and the considerable pre-opening publicity it received. By comparison 'What If' the romantic comedy from CBS Films featuring 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan opened to $130000 on just 20 screens for a $6500 per-location average. And 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' which was the top-grossing film this weekend and in 3845 theaters averaged nearly $17000 per location in its debut. Cameron's earlier documentaries had better openings and showed some legs so there's still hope. His IMAX documentary 'Aliens of the Deep' opened to $479368 on 27 theaters in 2005 and ultimately brought in more than $12 million. Another IMAX film 'Ghosts of the Abyss' opened to $1.4 million from 97 theaters and went to take in $17 million domestically and $22 million worldwide in 2003. Cameron directed those two films while John Bruno and Ray Quint directed this one. It's a good bet Cameron isn't sweating the soft 'Deepsea Challenge' opening. 'Avatar' and 'Titanic' have brought in $4.8 billion globally and Cameron is working on three 'Avatar' sequels for Fox. The first one is due at Christmas 2016. Richard Linklater's 'Boyhood' and the Philip Seymour Hoffman spy thriller 'A Most Wanted Man' both crossed the $10 million mark at the specialty box office this weekend. Roadside Entertainment added 82 theaters for the third week of 'A Most Wanted Man' and it brought in $2.2 million for a $2748 per-screen average. That upped the domestic total for the John le Carre adaptation which co-stars Willem Dafoe and Rachel McAdams to $10.4 million. IFC Films expanded 'Boyhood' from 310 to 507 locations in its fifth weekend and the 12-years-in-the-making drama brought in just over $2 million. It's per-screen average was $4120 down from $7738 last weekend. That raised the domestic total for 'Boyhood' to $10.6 million making it the third-highest grossing film ever for IFC behind only 2002's 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and 'Y tu Mama Tambien.' The plan is to continue to expand 'Boyhood' next weekend in concert with a TV advertising and social media promo push according distribution chief Mark Boxer. Also expanding was Woody Allen's 'Magic in the Moonlight' which Sony Pictures Classic took from 65 to 170 theaters for its third week. It brought in $803922 for a solid $4729 per-screen average that lifted its domestic total to $2.4 million. 'To Rome with Love' the director's last movie from SPC had nearly double that figure in its third week on its way to a $16 million domestic total. CBS Films' Daniel Radcliffe-Zoe Kazan romantic comedy 'What If' opened to an estimated $130000 from 20 theaters a $6500 per-screen average. It received an 'A-' CinemaScore in line with its strong reviews. Domestically The film a $2 million Toronto Film Festival pickup for CBS debuted in line with 'Promised Land' (25 screens $6957 per screen) 'The Jane Austen Book Club' (25 screens $5.942 per-screen) and 'The Young Victoria' (20 screens $8003 per screen). 'Young Victoria' took in $11 million in 2012 while 'Promised Land' did $7.5 million domestically and 'Jane Austen' topped out at $3.5 million. Several films were dropping theaters but still making a mark. Open Road's 'Chef' was down 108 locations but still took in $330165 from 242 theaters for a $1365 per-screen average that raised its domestic total to nearly $29 million after 14 weeks. It's behind only 'Grand Budapest Hotel' ($59 million) as the year's top grossing indie film. The Weinstein Company's 'Begin Again' lost 482 theaters and claimed $185000 from 245 locations a $755 per-screen average that put it at $14.2 million after seven weeks. Focus Features' Zach Braff comedy-drama 'Wish I Was Here' lifted its domestic total to $3.4 million in its fourth week ahead of the $3.1 million in Kickstarter funds the actor generated to make the film. It dropped 551 theaters and took in $100000 from 202 theaters for a roughly $495 per-screen average. TWC's 'Snowpiercer' brought in $65347 from 71 theaters down 29 from last weekend and averaged $920 per screen. The domestic total for the sci-fi action film which has done considerable video-on-demand business throughout its theatrical run is up to $4.2 million.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.