Focus Features rolled out period drama The Zookeeper’s Wife starring Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh and Daniel Brühl in over five hundred theaters over the weekend, getting a solid start grossing over $3.34M. The title lead an overall quiet weekend in the Specialty box office, which did have a few bright spots. Janus Films opened doc David Lynch – The Art Life in a New York exclusive engagement, grossing over $12K, while China Lion bowed thriller The Devotion of Suspect X with Chinese star Wang Kai in 43 North American locations taking in $330K. Also Arrow Films is doing a re-release of Donnie Darko starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The 4K remaster of the 2001 feature grossed $53,200 from 21 runs. Submarine Deluxe/Film Rise added several locations for doc I Called Him Morgan in its second weekend, grossing over $20K, while Searchlight’s Wilson went slow in its second frame at $115K in over three hundred theaters. Sony/TriStar more than doubled runs for T2 Trainspotting, grossing $400K this weekend, while Oscilloscope’s Kedi crossed $2M, becoming one of the highest-grossing foreign-language documentaries of all time. And TWC’s Lion crossed $51M.

Director Niki Caro’s historical drama The Zookeeper’s Wife had a decent start as it rolled out into 541 locations over the weekend. The title grossed $3.3M, giving it a $6,191 per theater average. Distributor Focus Features said the feature had a 31% jump Friday to Saturday, when it took in $1.36M. The company said its exit polls were “better than the industry norm,” and that its opening weekend audience skewed older and female.

Focus Features

“We’re very happy with our opening weekend, having a more limited title open in the top 10 is a great accomplishment,” said Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features’ president of Distribution Sunday in a statement. “The film played extremely well with our core audience. Exit polls were huge with over 90% of the audience rating the film in the top two boxes. As a result, we’ve decided to expand faster than originally planned. Adult audiences are looking for films with a great story and strong performances and The Zookeeper’s Wife delivers.”

Janus Films’ documentary David Lynch – The Art Life began its theatrical release at IFC Center in New York, technically landing the best PTA among the Specialty releases as of Sunday morning. The feature, which debuted in Venice in September, grossed $12,126. Janus said Sunday it will open the title in Los Angeles April 14 at Cinefamily and that the company is “looking to hit just about every major market theatrically before VOD.”

“David Lynch is not only one of the most intriguing filmmakers ever, he’s also one of cinema’s most compelling characters, simultaneously down to earth yet totally mysterious,” commented Peter Becker, president of the Criterion Collection and Partner in Janus Films Sunday. “To have this kind of intimate access and frank insight into his creative life is a startling and exciting experience. With the new Twin Peaks coming up, we can feel the Lynch wave building, and we look forward to reaching audiences like this all across the country.”

China Lion Film

Chinese thriller The Devotion of Suspect X bowed in 43 North American theaters Friday, grossing $330K, giving it a solid $7,674 PTA. Distributor China Lion said the film’s star Wang Kai was a draw leading up to the film’s theatrical debut. “The lead, Wang Kai, is an extremely talented and popular actor, known for multiple blockbuster television series in the Mainland,” said China Lion’s Robert Lundberg earlier this week. “His fans have pushed to get this film played worldwide and will support him at the box office.” China Lion said Sunday the title had a “great many sell outs across the country,” and that it will be expanding the film to “other major cities” in the coming weeks.

Arrow Films opened a 4K remastered version of Richard Kelly’s 2001 fantasy-thriller Donnie Darko, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Arrow opened the film in 21 locations, grossing $53K, giving it a $2,533 PTA. Newmarket originally opened the film, which has cumed over $1.2M in its various releases. Arrow Films noted Sunday that the feature had limited showtimes in many markets, with some only playing single screenings. The company said it sold out in top markets including New York, L.A. and San Francisco.

“We’re delighted with the weekend’s result for our Anniversary re-release of Donnie Darko in the US,” commented Francesco Simeoni, director of Content and Distribution for Arrow Films in a statement Sunday. “It’s been almost nine months since we began working with Richard Kelly on our 4K restoration for this release, and it’s been a fantastic journey to see this true classic back on the big screen where it deserves to be seen. We look forward to future bookings over the coming weeks, ahead of the home entertainment release later in April.” Arrow Films added that Donnie Darko is currently booked in over 70 cities, mixing full runs and limited engagements.

Submarine Deluxe/FilmRise

Submarine Deluxe/Film Rise added four runs for jazz doc I Called Him Morgan in its second weekend. In five locations, the film grossed $20K, averaging $4,087. The feature debuted in a single theater last weekend grossing $14,154. It has cumed $40K.

FIP shed nine locations for Indian title Phillauri in its second frame. The feature took in $76K over the weekend, averaging $1,169. Phillauri bowed last weekend in 74 theaters, grossing $265K ($3,581 PTA). Its two-week cume is now $421K.

Searchlight’s Wilson grossed $115K in 311 theaters Friday to Sunday, giving it a low $370 per theater average. Wilson debuted the previous week in 310 theaters grossing $330K ($1,065 PTA). The feature’s two week cume is $592K.

Sony/TriStar still has T2 Trainspotting in limited release now in its third weekend, though the title expanded by 81 runs this weekend. T2 grossed $400K in 140 theaters, averaging $2,857, down about 56% from last weekend’s $6,441 average in 59 theaters ($380K gross). The title, directed by Danny Boyle, has cumed over $1.17M.

Music Box Films added 27 runs for French feature Frantz by François Ozone in its third weekend. Frantz grossed $85K in 37 locations, averaging $2,304. Last weekend the feature grossed $50K in 10 theaters, averaging $5K. The film’s three-week cume is over $184K.

IFC Films

Kristen Stewart’s Personal Shopper played an additional 43 locations in its fourth weekend. Directed by Olivier Assayas, the title grossed $159K in 150 theaters Friday to Sunday, averaging $1,063 (-50%). The prior weekend, Personal Shopper grossed over $225K in 107 locations, averaging $2,105. It has cumed nearly $792K.

Oscilloscope’s Turkish documentary Kedi hit the two month mark in its North American theatrical run and did so while reaching a box office milestone. Kedi crossed $2M this weekend. In 105 theaters, the feature grossed $165K, averaging $1,576.

Said Oscilloscope Sunday: “We believe it still has many weeks of significant grossing potential left as evidenced by its high complex rank at top theaters in Washington, D.C., Boston and San Francisco. Positive word-of-mouth has kicked in and will continue to propel it to new highs.”

The cume makes Kedi one of the highest-grossing foreign-language non-fiction films to play U.S. theaters. Previous high grossers in the category include Babies which Focus released in May, 2010 eventually totaling over $7.32M and IFC Films’ Pina (2011) which cumed over $3.5M.

Lionsgate’s multiple Oscar winner La La Land is now in its 17th weekend of release, inching toward $151M. Over the weekend, the title by Damien Chazelle grossed $142K in 143 theaters, averaging $993. It has cumed over $150.46M.

And TWC’s Lion crossed $51M in its 19th weekend. Lion grossed nearly $212K in 175 theaters Friday to Sunday, averaging a still impressive $1,211.

Janus Films

NEW RELEASES

David Lynch – The Art Life (Janus Films) NEW [1 Theater] Weekend $12,126

The Devotion of Suspect X (China Lion) NEW [43 Theaters] Weekend $330,000, Average $7,674

Donnie Darko (2017 re-release) (Arrow Films) NEW [21 Theaters] Weekend $53,200, Average $2,533

The Zookeeper’s Wife (Focus Features) NEW [541 Theaters] Weekend $3,349,475, Average $6,191

RETURNING/SECOND WEEKEND

I Called Him Morgan (Submarine Deluxe/FilmRise) Week 2 [5 Theater] Weekend $20,437, Average $4,087, Cume $40,546

Phillauri (FIP) Week 2 [65 Theaters] Weekend $76,000, Average $1,169, Cume $421,800

Wilson (Fox Searchlight) Week 2 [311 Theaters] Weekend $115,000, Average $370, Cume $592,300

Music Box Films

HOLDOVERS / THIRD+ WEEKENDS

Frantz (Music Box Films) Week 3 [37 Theaters] Weekend $85,250, Average $2,304, Cume $184,461

Song To Song (Broad Green Pictures) Week 3 [95 Theaters] Weekend $58,747, Average $618, Cume $325,909

T2 Trainspotting (Sony/TriStar) Week 3 [140 Theaters] Weekend $400,000, Average $2,857, Cume $1,177,507

Personal Shopper (IFC Films) Week 4 [150 Theaters] Weekend $159,450, Average $1,063, Cume $791,973

Raw (Focus World) Week 4 [42 Theaters] Weekend $70,435, Average $1,677, Cume $303,573

The Sense Of an Ending (CBS Films) Week 4 [88 Theaters] Weekend $80,000, Average $909, Cume $1,236,000

The Last Word (Bleecker Street) Week 5 [289 Theaters] Weekend $212,527, Average $735, Cume $1,482,667

Tim Timmerman: Hope of America (Purdie Distribution) Week 5 [1 Theaters] Weekend $120, Cume $87,798

A United Kingdom (Fox Searchlight) Week 8 [86 Theaters] Weekend $87,000, Average $1,012, Cume $3,703,000

Oscilloscope

Kedi (Oscilloscope) Week 8 [105 Theaters] Weekend $165,500, Average $1,576, Cume $2,040,544

The Salesman (Cohen Media Group) Week 10 [37 Theaters] Weekend $30,220, Average $817, Cume $2,348,507

The Founder (The Weinstein Company) Week 11 [31 Theaters] Weekend $20,460, Average $660, Cume $12,749,072

Paterson (Amazon Studios/Bleecker Street) Week 14 [31 Theaters] Weekend $33,782, Average $1,090, Cume $2,114,806

La La Land (Lionsgate) Week 17 [143 Theaters] Weekend $142,000, Average $993, Cume $150,468,591

Lion (The Weinstein Company) Week 19 [175 Theaters], Weekend $211,980, Average $1,211, Cume $51,131,032

Moonlight (A24) Week 24 [69 Theaters] Weekend $48,000, Average $696, Cume $27,774,612