OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw the arrival of Warner Bros.' R rated crime comedy Welcome to Collinwood to a hopeful ESTIMATED $82,000 at 16 theaters ($5,125 per theater).
Written and directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, it stars William H. Macy, Isaiah Washington and Sam Rockwell.
"This movie was produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh and their company Section Eight," Warner Bros. Distribution executive vice president Jeff Goldstein said Sunday morning.
"They've made money available to young upcoming writers and directors. The writer and director (of Collinwood) are two brothers, Joe and Anthony Russo, and this is their debut. They're solid numbers -- nice and strong. We're in five different markets and it's a nice specialized film for a specialized market. We feel good about the numbers."
Will Warners go wider with the film? "We had originally set it for (expansion on) Oct. 18," Goldstein replied. "So between Oct. 18 and 25, we're going to roll out other markets."
Miramax's R rated thriller Heaven opened to an encouraging ESTIMATED $54,000 at 4 theaters ($13,500 per theater).
Directed by Tom Tykwer, it stars Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front this weekend Buena Vista/ Disney's PG rated animated feature Spirited Away went wider in its third week with an encouraging ESTIMATED $0.63 million at 97 theaters (+44 theaters; $6,492 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.9 million.
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, it was the Golden Bear best picture winner at the Berlin International Film Festival. Spirited is the all-time top grossing film at the Japanese box office.
United Artists' R rated dark comedy Igby Goes Down expanded quietly in its fourth week with an ESTIMATED $0.51 million (-17%) at 147 theaters (+26 theaters; $3,443 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.7 million.
Written and directed by Burr Steers, it stars Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman and Susan Sarandon.
Lions Gate Films' R rated kinky romance Secretary expanded in its third week with an attractive ESTIMATED $0.38 million (+4%) at 101 theaters (+48 theaters; $3,730 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.2 million.
Directed by Steven Shainberg, it stars James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Focus Features' R rated French comedic whodunit 8 Women expanded in its third week with a still charming ESTIMATED $0.36 million (+17%) at 82 theaters (+25 theaters; $4,380 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.2 million.
Directed by Francois Ozon, it stars Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Beart, Fanny Ardant, Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux, Ludivine Sagnier and Firmine Richard.