‘Land Of Bad’ Sees Action; Oscar Nominated Shorts’ Long Game; ‘God & Country’ Enters Political Fray & ‘The Zone Of Interest’ Wins 3 BAFTAs – Specialty Box Office

The Avenue release Land of Bad, powered by Variance, grossed $1.8 million on 1,120 screens, landing in the top ten for the weekend as Variance noted strong word of mouth with Saturday grosses jumping 37% from Friday’ (not including Thursday sneaks). The estimate for the four days is $2.07 million.

The William Eubank film starring Russell Crowe and Liam and Luke Hemsworth is performing best on the West Coast and the heartland/Midwest, with suburban theaters delivering the biggest Fri-to-Sat growth. Thi s is the tale of a covert Special Forces operation in the South Philippines that spirals into a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.

Also strong, Oscar Nominated Short Films opened Friday for their traditional a four-week run, a 19-year ritual that packages animated, live action and documentary shorts into three feature length films. They grossed an estimated $765k on 375 screens for the three-day weekend and $915k for the four days. Packaged and distributed by ShortsTV working with Magnolia Pictures, the breakdown tends to be similar year to year — Animation does around 45% of the business, Live Action 40%, and Documentary 15%. Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar bows in the Live Action strand this year. Theaters can play any or all of the three.

A unique thing about Shorts — they draw from every demographic, part of what makes it so appealing to theaters when Oscar Shorts season comes around every year. The top five locations are IFC Center, Detroit Institute of Art, Music Box Chicago, Alamo SF and the TIFF Lightbox. 

New limited opening God & Country from Oscilloscope Labs grossed $40.1k on 85 screens nationwide. Directed by Dan Partland and produced by Rob Reiner, the film about the rise and threat of Christian nationalism saw sold-out and near sold-out shows in multiple markets including Grand Rapids, Santa Cruz, Dallas, DC and Nashville.

Overall gross was hampered by lower-than-average ticket prices in rural and suburban areas of the country, as well as limited screening schedules, Oscilloscope noted., saying: “God & Country has been met with an unbelievable amount of support from churches and religious organizations across the country that