Ahead of its wide release on Christmas Day, A24’s “Marty Supreme” opened on six screens in New York and Los Angeles and scored a spectacular platform launch, earning the best per-theater average of the year with $875,000 grossed.
In fact, its average of $145,933 is the highest ever posted for an A24 release as well as the highest average recorded by any film since “La La Land” earned a $176,220 average from five screens in 2016.
A24 reports that on Friday and Saturday alone, “Marty Supreme” sold out 92 screenings at theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn and the AMC Burbank. Since its surprise world premiere at the New York Film Festival, the film has earned explosive acclaim among critics and cinephiles, earning a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score.
The film stars Timothee Chalamet as Marty Mauser, an arrogant, hustling table tennis player who is convinced that global stardom as a ping-pong world champion is his destiny. But after he falls short in the tournament finals, his self-destructive tendencies cause his life to collapse around him as he faces multiple crises, including a pregnant lover, mounting debts, and run-ins with dangerous criminals.
The hype for the film has been supported by a whirlwind marketing campaign led by Chalamet, who has showed off a special jacket made for the film and shared it with a variety of celebrities and athletes. A pop-up shop opened in Los Angeles to sell the jackets led to long lines around the block as fans hoped to pick up one of their own.
The question now is whether “Marty Supreme” can win over a wider audience. Director Josh Safdie’s last film, “Uncut Gems,” won over the cinephile crowd but left mainstream moviegoers chilled as it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% critics and 52% audience.
Despite that, “Uncut Gems” legged out to a $50 million domestic box office run, starting with a 5-day Christmas opening of just under $20 million. “Marty Supreme” is looking for a similar start with a projected 4-day Christmas weekend opening of $15 million.
Elsewhere at the indie box office, Searchlight’s “Is This Thing On?” opened on six screens in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, earning $145,000 for a $24,200 average. Starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern as Alex and Tess, a couple going through a divorce. At a loss as to what to do with his life, Alex takes up an unexpected hobby: stand-up comedy.
Directed by Bradley Cooper, “Is This Thing On?” has an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score and will expand to six additional cities on Christmas weekend.
Finally, the Golden Globe-nominated true-story drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab” was released by indie distributor Willa at the New York Film Forum and the Laemmle Royal in LA, grossing $50,730 over five days.
Recipient of the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and selected as Tunisia’s contender for the Best International Feature Oscar, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” retells the killing of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was fleeing Gaza City with her family in January 2024 when their car was shelled by an Israeli tank. Paramedics remained on the phone with Rajab for hours attempting to rescue her, but she and medics sent to rescue her were later found dead from subsequent Israeli attacks. The film will roll out to additional cities in January.
Jeremy Fuster
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