"This is, obviously, Wes Anderson really delivering on the expectations of his fans. This is a movie that delivers and they love it. They're telling everybody and we're just keeping the seats filled."
Looking ahead, Viane said, "We go from two markets to 14 markets this Friday and to 25 markets on Dec. 28. And then we'll be everywhere on Jan. 4. It's really special."
Lions Gate Films' R rated drama Lantana opened to a quiet ESTIMATED $0.066 million at 6 theaters ($11,000 per theater).
Directed by Ray Lawrence, it stars Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey and Kerry Armstrong.
Miramax's R rated drama Iris opened in an Oscar qualifying run in Los Angeles and New York with an encouraging ESTIMATED $0.021 million at 2 theaters ($10,500 per theater).
Directed by Richard Eyre, it stars Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet.
Miramax's R rated drama Pinero opened an Oscar qualifying run with a calm ESTIMATED $20,000 at 2 theaters in New York and L.A. ($10,000 per theater). Its cume after four days is approximately $23,500.
Written and directed by Leon Ichaso, it stars Benjamin Bratt.
Miramax's PG-13 rated drama Behind the Sun opened an Oscar qualifying run with a quiet ESTIMATED $4,700 at 1 theater in Los Angeles. Its cume after five days is approximately $6,200.
Directed by Walter Salles and produced by Arthur Cohn, it stars Jose Dumont.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
This weekend saw Miramax hold sneak previews Friday and Saturday night of its PG-13 rated romantic comedy Kate & Leopold.
Directed by James Mangold, it stars Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.
"There were just over 1,000 sneaks. We had a national average capacity of about 80 percent," Miramax senior vice president, marketing David Kaminow said Sunday morning.
"We were about 60 percent female and 40 percent male. And about 60-65 percent 25-and-older. We had very, very good reactions--a national average of about 80 percent in the Top Two Boxes [excellent and very good] and about 72-74 percent definite recommend. So it played very, very well. It's a perfect crowd pleaser for the holidays and really the only movie of its kind for the season, which is I think what's distinguishing it. Everyone loves Meg, but Hugh Jackman's really emerging from this a great find for people. They think he's terrific."
Kate opens Friday at about 2,500 theaters.