"Amour" Cannes winner debuts at strong $23,554 per-screen average

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Amour," Michael Haneke's dark and unsparing look at old age and death, brought in $70,662 from three theaters in its first weekend of limited release. That's a strong $23,554 per-screen average for the French-language import from Sony Classics, TheWrap said.

"Amour" is a co-production between companies in Austria, France and Germany. It is Austria's entry and a favorite in Oscar’s Best Foreign Language category, and it has a shot at a Best Picture nomination, too.

Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva star as Anne and George, an elderly couple who are retired music teachers and have a daughter (Isabelle Huppert) living abroad. The story, which Haneke wrote and directed based on a similar experience in his own family, focuses on what happens when Anne suffers a stroke.

"On the Road," IFC Films' adaptation of the Jack Kerouac’s beat generation novel starring Kristen Stewart, debuted to $43,200 in four theaters, a $10,800 per-screen average.

Summit Entertainment's "The Impossible," the English-language film from Spain based on a true story about a family’s fight to survive the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, took in $138,750 from 15 screens in its debut.

Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts star in the film, which has already taken in $52 million in Spain, the home of the real-life couple upon whom the story is based as well as director Juan Antonio Bayona (“The Orphanage”) and screenwriter Sergio Sanchez.

“Not Fade Away,” the Paramount Vantage tale of a group of 1960 New Jersey friends launching a rock band, averaged $6,333 per location after debuting with $19,000 from three theaters. It is written and directed by “Sopranos” creator David Chase.