The Greatest Showman #652 - Box Office Call

When Focus Pictures announced that Crazy Love would be screened in 2,337 theaters the following week, many people thought they were making a huge mistake. To be precise, they thought it was an irrational gamble—a gamble that 99.99% of people expected to fail.

But the miracle of that 0.01% happened.

A single theater brought in $8,110. What does that mean? To put it into perspective, just the week before, Iron Armored Steel Fist premiered in 3,340 theaters and earned $7,900 per theater. While Crazy Love had fewer theaters, it actually surpassed Iron Armored Steel Fist in per-theater revenue, despite having fewer showings.

One film had a budget of $250,000, the other $110 million.

In its opening weekend, Crazy Love grossed $19 million—what does that mean? Not only did it become the highest-grossing film of the weekend, but it also claimed the title of North America's weekend box office champion for the second week of October 2011! An independent art film, originating from Sundance, rivaling Blue Valentine, unexpectedly dominated the box office. This was a remarkable achievement.

This was the first time an independent film had claimed the title in two years, since Juno.

No one expected this. In fact, no one dared to predict it. But Focus Pictures succeeded. By expanding the film to over 2,300 theaters, they created a box office explosion, taking down Iron Armored Steel Fist and winning the weekend box office crown. Despite it being a slow autumn season, this was nothing short of incredible.

So, why did this happen?

The reasons are both complex and simple.

First, Crazy Love isn't Blue Valentine. The story is stronger and more relatable to a broader audience. The New Yorker even compared it to When Harry Met Sally, both films about love, breakups, and reunions—one ending with comedy and the other with tragedy. Crazy Love leans more towards a bittersweet ending, but it still attracts a wide base of viewers.

Second, Crazy Love is a pure love story. It's not as harsh as Blue Valentine but still grounded in realism. It reminds viewers of films like Brokeback Mountain, where both films explore love in a raw, realistic way. Effective marketing and accurate positioning of the film brought out genuine emotions in the audience, which guaranteed its box office success.

Additionally, the combination of Jennifer Lawrence and Renly Hall, while Felicity Jones is the lead, generated significant attention. The chemistry between Felicity and Renly on screen won over audiences, pushing word-of-mouth reviews to soar and drawing in more viewers.

Finally, there's Renly Hall.

It's still early to say, but there's no denying that Renly's name has become a game-changer in audience expectations. His success at last year's Emmys and constant media buzz have kept his name fresh in the public's mind, even when his projects weren't yet fully released. People were curious about him, which only increased anticipation, excitement, and expectations for his roles. This shift in expectations led to greater appeal, which was key to the film's success.

Focus Pictures capitalized on this opportunity and turned it into a successful release. Complex? Simple? Perhaps a bit old-fashioned, but undeniably effective.

As a result, Crazy Love expanded the next week and continued to break records. It earned $19 million during its opening weekend and clinched the top spot at the box office.

Such results are comparable to The Notebook, which grossed $13 million in its opening weekend back in June 2004 and went on to make $81 million in North America. While critics were not fond of The Notebook, audiences loved it, and it became a sleeper hit.

The peak of romantic drama films was in the 1980s and 1990s, with classics like The Ghost, Titanic, and The Bodyguard. However, in the new century, romantic comedies took the lead, and romantic dramas began to fade. Outside of Pearl Harbor, only one romantic drama in the 2000s, Cold Mountain, exceeded $100 million at the box office.

Now, Crazy Love has emerged, and its opening weekend results are exceptional. While it didn't match the box office bombshell Titanic, it still surpassed The Notebook's opening and reignited the momentum for romantic dramas.

All other films released that week were left in the dust.

Iron Armored Steel Fist, in its second week, grossed $16 million, ranking second. Despite its disappointing opening weekend, it had earned $51 million in two weeks and was a solid performer.

The third-place finisher was the 2011 remake of Full of Strength, a 1984 classic. Despite the nostalgic appeal of the original, the remake earned only $15 million in its opening weekend, which wasn't a huge disappointment given its modest budget of $24 million.

In fourth place was the remake The Thing Before, a prequel to the 1982 horror classic directed by John Carpenter. With a $38 million budget, the film only managed $8 million in its opening weekend, making it a probable flop.

Whether due to old hits, new releases, or star power, all other films failed to capture the box office attention. Meanwhile, Crazy Love unexpectedly surged to the top, surprising everyone during the usually sluggish autumn season.

Last year, it was Buried Alive; this year, it's Crazy Love. It seems Renly and the autumn season might just be a perfect match. But whether Crazy Love can follow in the footsteps of Buried Alive and secure a place during awards season is another story. It's certainly not going to be easy.

Nevertheless, the surprise success of Crazy Love has been a stunning achievement. Focus Pictures acquired the distribution rights for $5.5 million at Sundance, and initially, people wondered if that was a bad investment. Now, in just two weeks, Focus has seen a return on that investment and is already profiting! And with awards season on the horizon, it looks like a deal that will be remembered for years.

However, a small number of people know that Weinstein Films was once very close to acquiring the distribution rights to Crazy Love but ultimately missed out. Now, as Crazy Love soars at the box office, one can only imagine how the Weinstein brothers feel about their missed opportunity.

Rumor has it that Harvey Weinstein, while playing golf, lost three golf balls and broke two clubs. Whether or not this incident is connected to the missed opportunity with Crazy Love is anyone's guess, but as the saying goes, "The benevolent see the benevolent, and the wise see the wise."