‘Origin’ Finds Its Roots With Strong Opening For Ava DuVernay Film – Specialty Box Office
deadline.comAva DuVernay’s Origin’s theatrical debut grossed a solid $875k on 130 screens with a $7k per-theater average said to be better than Neon anticipated.
The distributor is “thrilled” with the number. “Working in close collaboration with Ava and her team at Array we’ve built a multi-tiered release plan that began with a high-profile December qualifying run in NY and LA taking full advantage of the Awards corridor, and now expanding nationally in a less crowded marketplace, priming Origin for wider cross-over appeal,” said Neon distribution chief Elissa Federoff. “It’s heartwarming to see this film connecting with audiences,” she added.
The film starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is based on The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 book Caste.
Her exploration of the historical roots of racism in ways that it’s not quite ever been done before, was a bestseller. Its short qualifying run in December took in $117k on just two screens.
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