Director Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom has set a new U.S. box office record as the movie with the best weekend opening from a limited release.
The independent film, which stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray, tells the story of a young boy and girl who run away together in the 1960s.
It premiered at just four theatres across New York and Los Angeles over the weekend (25-27May12), and despite only hosting a few screenings, the project took in a whopping $523,006 (£326,879) in ticket sales.
The feat equates to a per-theatre average of $130,752 (£81,720), which bests the previous live-action record set by Jennifer Hudson’s 2006 musical Dreamgirls ($126,317/£78,948).
Hailing the film’s success, a statement released by Focus Features studio boss James Schamus reads, “Moonrise is a story of love’s improbable triumph, and for Wes Anderson and his team a labour of love from start to finish. How wonderful it is to congratulate him, on behalf of everyone at Focus, for this remarkable, record-breaking opening.”
The movie debuted at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in France earlier this month (16May12).
