Neon’s Adam Scott-starring Hokum by Damian McCarthy (Oddity) debuted with $6.4 million on 1,885 screens, a nice start for the witchy tale with a $5-million budget set in a creepy Irish inn. It pulls in at no. 5 in North America behind the likes of The Devil Wears Prada 2, Michael, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Project Hail Mary, big studio films all with much wider runs.
When novelist Ohm Bauman (Scott) retreats to a remote inn in Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to confront dark corners of his past. Also stars Brendan Conroy, David Wilmot, Peter Coonan, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell and Florence Ordesh.
Neon is selling the film internationally. It’s the distributor’s first release of its projects under a partnership with Spooky Pictures, which has a co-production partnership with Image Nation, and the latest in a partnership slate with Waypoint’s Cweature Features.
The opening gross speaks to the film and the overall strength of the box office, which is up 18% this weekend versus a year ago, according to Comscare. Hokum is Certified Fresh at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes with an 82% Popcornmeter and a B Cinemascore.
At no. 6 is Angel Studio’s animated Animal Farm by Andy Serkis with a $3.4 million opening on 2,600 screens. Based on George Orwell’s iconic allegorical novel, it features the voices of Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Glenn Close and Woody Harrelson.
Magenta Light Studios’ shark thriller Deep Water debuted at 1,675 locations to $2.15 million. Directed by Renny Harlin,Produced by KISS’ Gene Simmons, it stars Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley. An eclectic group of international passengers enroute from L.A. to Shanghai are forced to make an emergency landing in shark infested waters.
The 36 Cinema Distribution’s release with Variance Films of RZA’S One Spoon Of Chocolate grossed $574k opening weekend on 636 screens. The Wu-Tang Clan founder directed, wrote and produced the revenge thriller that follows an ex-military convict (Shameik Moore) seeking redemption in a small town.
Limited: Francesco Sossai’s Cannes-premiering The Last One For The Road from Music Box Films opened to $7.5k on two screens.
Event: The Met: Live in HD transmission of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin grossed circa $670k in North America with one screening (Saturday) at about 800 cinemas. Starring soprano Asmik Grigorian and baritone Iurii Samoilov, and conducted by Timur Zangiev in his Met debut, Encore screenings of Eugene Onegin in select U.S. theaters on May 6. Directed for cinema by Gary Halvorson, hosted by mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. The high-definition simulcasts, which reliably draw audiences, will conclude the 2025–26 season with Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego on May 30.
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