‘The Punk Singer’ Makes a Killing With Weekend’s Best Per-Screen Average for a Documentary

still3, Kathleen Hanna. Photo Courtesy of Dusty Lombard. An IFC Films release

Fans of Kathleen Hanna (pictured) were likely the major factor in The Punk Singer taking the best per-screen average at the box office over the weekend. Opening on two screens in New York City (one of them in hip Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and one in Los Angeles, the doc about the riot grrrl icon made a total of $25k, which divided up as a little over $8k from each. IFC Films reports the films “sold out multiple shows” in both cities.

Bettering the newcomer overall, however, was Alex Gibney’s The Armstrong Lie, which grossed another $32k courtesy of a much wider release over 31 screens. Also doing well among the continuing titles are Michel Gondry’s Is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?, which doubled its theater count for an additional $17k, Bettie Page Reveals All, which doubled up its theater count and total gross, and sleeper hit Generation Iron, which is now down to a single screen.

One other new release of note included on the weekend’s final chart is Peter Mettler’s The End of Time, which did decently on a single screen in New York City for more than $1k.

Here is the reported weekend box office for 11/29/13–12/01/13, including new and continuing releases:

1. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa — $1,766,420

2. The Armstrong Lie — $32,092

3. The Punk Singer— $24,729

4. Is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?— $17,286

5. Muscle Shoals— $12,847

6. Bettie Page Reveals All— $8,344

7. Generation Iron— $5,100

8. 20 Feet From Stardom— $2,608

9. Inequality for All— $2,286

10. Narco Cultura— $2,257

11. Watermark— $2,096

12. The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology— $1,882

13. Good Ol’ Freda— $1,667

14. The End of Time— $1,468

15. When Comedy Went to School— $1,339

16 Fire in the Blood— $1,286

17. Sweet Dreams— $1,273

18. People of a Feather— $517

19. The Act of Killing— $324

20. Let the Fire Burn— $180

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

  1. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa— $99m ($135m worldwide)
  2. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain — $32.2m
  3. One Direction: This Is Us — $28.9m ($66.6m worldwide)
  4. Hubble 3D (IMAX) — $4.9m
  5. 20 Feet From Stardom — $4.8m
  6. Metallica Through the Never— $3.4m
  7. Unstoppable— $3.2m
  8. To the Arctic (IMAX) — $2.9m
  9. Flying Monsters— $2.6m
  10. The Gatekeepers — $2.4m
  11. Blackfish — $2.1m
  12. Space Station 3D (IMAX) — $1.9m
  13. Stories We Tell — $1.6m
  14. Born to Be Wild (IMAX) — $1.56m
  15. Girl Rising — $1.53m
  16. Inequality for All— $1.2m
  17. Under the Sea 3D— $1.1m
  18. Generation Iron— $822k
  19. 56 Up — $700k
  20. Searching For Sugar Man — $686k
  21. Deep Sea 3D (IMAX) — $668k
  22. Muscle Shoals— $635k
  23. Salinger— $576k
  24. Chasing Ice — $530k
  25. Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorfs — $510k

Data pulled from Box Office Mojo and IMDb and Deadline and The Numbers.

(Editor in Chief)

Christopher Campbell is the founding editor of Nonfics.