Shakespeare adaptation “Much Ado” sets indie box office record

PanARMENIAN.Net - "The Avengers” director Joss Whedon’s update on the Bard’s “Much Ado About Nothing” scored big in its box-office debut for Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate, TheWrap said.

The black-and-white contemporary take on Shakespeare's classic opened in five theaters in New York, L..A and San Francisco and took in $183,400 for a very strong $36,680 per-screen average. And it broke the house record at N.Y’s Lincoln Center Film Society Theatre, with a $15,027 gross on Saturday, June 8.

“Joss and his ensemble cast did a mammoth amount of PR, including festival appearances, an appearance at Wonder Con, the talk-show circuit and a plethora of screenings and online interviews,” said Roadside’s co-founder Howard Cohen.

The critics liked it a lot (78 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes), but the test of its mainstream appeal is yet to come.

Whedon wrote the screenplay and directed “Much Ado About Nothing,” which stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Fran Kranz.

The last version of “Much Ado” to hit the big screen was Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 take, which starred Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves. That one opened to $36,205 on three theaters and went on to take in $22 million domestically.