Opening a movie in limited release can be risky if critics don’t embrace it and audiences don’t come. Just ask George Clooney, whose “The Good German” won’t be coming to a theater near you, unless you happen to live in the East Village or Kew Gardens, Queens.

The weekend numbers tell the tale: “The Good German” did just $40,564 on 48 screens for a pathetic $845 per screen average. That’s a 63 percent drop from the previous weekend, when it was playing in 64 theatres in the whole country — apparently the widest release this film from an Oscar-winning director (Steven Soderbergh) and his Oscar-winning star (Clooney) is going to be getting, never mind that the same studio (Warners) will be releasing “Ocean’s 14” later this year.

Metacritic.com, which ranks reviews on a 1-to-100 scale, had “The Good German” coming in with a tepid 50, as positive reviews from Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and your truly were diluted by more caustic assessments from outlets like The New York Times.

Most years, female lead Cate Blanchett would have had a shot at an awards nomination for Marlene Dietrich-ish turn in the title role, even in a flop. But not in 2006, which yielded the strongest field of female contenders in decades.

And “The Good German,” a period thriller shot in post-war Berlin shot entirely on studio sound stages in black-and-white, was too cold and cerebral to catch on with audiences, even in sophisticated New York City.

After a six-week run at the Paris and the Angelika, it was moved last Friday to a pair of humbler venues, the Village East and the Kew Gardens Cinemas, both of whom are only showing it for two shows a day. As of Sunday, the gross for the $30 million film stood at $981,000. Except a date to be announced soon for its premiere on DVD, where it will hopefully fare better.