Independent films 'The Tree of Life,' 'Midnight in Paris' do strong business at the box office

Independent films ‘The Tree of Life,’ ‘Midnight in Paris’ do strong business at the box office

Columnist

May 30, 2011 9:59 AM PT

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Despite its lofty subject matter and press-averse director, ‘The Tree of Life’ found success at the box office this weekend.

The movie from reclusive filmmaker Terrence Malick opened in four theaters and collected a strong $488,920 over four days, according to an estimate from distributor Fox Searchlight. On a three-day basis, the film had a per-theater average of $93,230, just slightly less than the $99,834 per-theater average Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ had in its debut last weekend.

‘The Tree of Life’s’ debut was the best ever in limited release for Fox Searchlight, beating out ‘Black Swan’s $80,212 per-theater average. It was also the best opening ever for Malick, whose ‘The Thin Red Line’ averaged $56,506 from five theaters in 1998. That film, a World War II drama, was the director’s biggest commercial success, with $98.1 million in ticket sales worldwide. Malick has been absent from any promotional duties for the film, which stars Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn and poses questions about family, faith and the creation of the universe.

It remains to be seen how well ‘Tree of Life,’ which features little dialogue and does not have a traditional plot, will fare with a broader audience. In May, the movie won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, but it has since inspired a divisive reaction among critics.

Fox Searchlight plans to expand the movie to eight new markets next weekend, and to open it in three additional theaters in New York and three more in Los Angeles. The movie, which was independently financed by Bill Pohlad’s River Road Entertainment, is to begin playing nationwide in 200 to 300 theaters on July 1.

Meanwhile, Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ continues to do solid business. The movie starring Owen Wilson as a struggling writer who longs to live in 1920s Paris collected $3.5 million over four days, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures Classics. That’s already more than the director’s last film, 2010’s ‘You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,’ grossed over its entire North American run. Though that movie made $31 million abroad, it only had $3.2 million in ticket sales domestically.

-- Amy Kaufman
Twitter.com/AmyKinLA

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Amy Kaufman

Amy Kaufman is a columnist at the Los Angeles Times, where she writes the A-1 column “For Real With Amy Kaufman.” The series examines the lives of icons, underdogs and rising stars to find out who the people are shaping our culture — for real. Since joining The Times in 2009, she has profiled hundreds of influential figures including Stevie Nicks, Nick Cannon, Drew Barrymore and Lady Gaga. She is also an investigative reporter and was part of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist team that covered the tragic shooting on the “Rust” film set. Her work often shines a light on the darker side of the entertainment business, and she has uncovered misconduct allegations against Randall Emmett and Russell Simmons. In 2018, her book “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure” became a New York Times bestseller.