“The Paperboy” Cannes erotic thriller takes in $10 thous. per screen

PanARMENIAN.Net - Millennium Entertainment’s R-rated erotic thriller “The Paperboy” starring Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman, took in $110,033 from 11 screens for a $10,033 per-screen average, TheWrap said.

Lee Daniels (“Precious”) directed and adapted the screenplay from Pete Dexter’s 1995 novel. It tells the story of a young man (Efron) helping a reporter (Matthew McConaughey) uncover the truth about a death row inmate (John Cusack), who might have been wrongly convicted. In the process, he falls for the convict’s lover (Kidman).

“The Paperboy” debuted to mixed reviews in competition at Cannes this year, with much of the media attention focused on a scene in which Kidman's urinates on Efron (to treat a jellyfish sting).

Also opening this week was "Butter," from the Weinstein Company's video-on-demand label Radius, melted. It took in just $70,653 from 90 theaters, a weak $785 per-screen average.

The satire was produced by and stars Jennifer Garner. It played festivals in Toronto, Telluride and the Hamptons last year, and has been available on video on for more than a month.

Oscilloscope's "Wuthering Heights" took in $8,785 from one New York theater in its bow.

Among other specialty releases, Lionsgate's "Perks of Being a Wallflower added $1.5 million from 221 locations, a $6,901 per-screen average that upped its domestic gross to $3.3 million after three weeks.

Roadside Attractions’ “Arbitrage” added $626,000 from 245 screens in its fourth week, a $2,557 per-screen average. That raises its domestic gross to $6 million.

China Lion’s “Vulgaria” made $11,000 from nine screens for a $1,222 per-screen average.