Box Office: ‘God Loves Uganda’ Tops New Releases as ‘Inequality for All’ Continues to Rise

I saw nothing in Escape From Tomorrow that would make me count it among this year’s documentary releases, even if it was programmed as part of the Stranger Than Fiction series this fall. I’d sooner include the dramatized true story Captain Phillips, which debuted at #2 over the weekend with $26m. But I’ll leave that out, too.

Another more qualified hybrid, meanwhile, is still the reigning title on the doc box office chart. Metallica Through the Never brought in another $204k to bring its total domestic gross up to $3.2m. Close on its tail, though, is Inequality for All [review] in its third week, having doubled its screen count to increase its total by $153k (compare to its prior two similar amounts of $139k and $141k).

Muscle Shoals also increased its number of locations to more than double its previous take, while When Comedy Went to School had a bit of a spurt, as well.

As for new releases, God Loves Uganda had the highest gross and highest per-screen average with its $7.3k from one screen. Also not too shabby considering it also hit VOD on the same day was Broadway Idiot, which made $5.5k on one screen. Design Is One: Lella and Massimo Vignelli, which grossed $4.2k from its single location.

Here is the reported weekend box office (with averages in parenthesis) for 10/11/13–10/13/13, including new and continuing releases:

1. Metallica Through the Never — $204k ($0.7k)

2. Inequality for All — $153k ($1.9k)

3. Generation Iron — $76k ($2.2k)

4. Linsanity — $52k ($3.2k)

5. Muscle Shoals — $50k ($3.6k)

6. When Comedy Went to School — $11k ($0.9k)

7. Salinger — $10k ($0.6k)

8. God Loves Uganda — $7.3k ($7.3k)

9. Good Ol’ Freda — $6.7k ($0.6k)

10. Born to Be Wild (IMAX) — $5.9k ($0.7k)

11. Broadway Idiot — $5.5k ($5.5k)

12. Design Is One — $4.2k ($4.2k)

13. To the Arctic (IMAX) — $3.9k ($0.6k)

14. Blackfish — $4k ($0.3k)

15. Free the Mind — $1.6k ($0.5k)

16. Rising From Ashes — $0.7k ($0.4k)

17. The Act of Killing — $0.4k ($0.1k)

18. Fire in the Blood — $0.1k ($0.1k)

And here is the current top 25 doc box office for 2013 (note the changeover from millions to thousands):

1. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain — $32.2m
2. One Direction: This Is Us — $28.9m ($66.6m worldwide)
3. Hubble 3D (IMAX) — $4.9m
4. 20 Feet From Stardom — $4.7m
5. Unstoppable — $3.20m
6. Metallica Through the Never — $3.17m
7. To the Arctic (IMAX) — $2.9m
8. The Gatekeepers — $2.4m
9. Blackfish — $2.1m
10. Space Station 3D (IMAX) — $1.9m
11. Stories We Tell — $1.6m
12. Born to Be Wild (IMAX) — $1.56m
13. Girl Rising — $1.53m
14. Flying Monsters — $1.49m
15. Under the Sea 3D — $1.1m
     — -
16. 56 Up — $700k
17. Searching For Sugar Man — $686k
18. Deep Sea 3D (IMAX) — $668k
19. Generation Iron — $631k
20. Salinger — $576k
21. Inequality for All — $559k
22. Chasing Ice — $530k
23. Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorfs — $510k
24. The Act of Killing — $443k
25. Sound City — $421k

Data pulled from Box Office Mojo and IMDb and Deadline.