The Little Movie That Could
The box-office success of “300” has been getting a lot of ink, and a lot pixels on this blog. But I just wanted to note that while “300” grossed a whopping $22,844 per theater (some of them showed it on as many as eight screens) last weekend, that figure was dwarfed by Mira Nair’s “The Namesake,” which averaged $41,425 per venue. “The Namesake,” starring Kal Penn in a finely crafted, emotionally resonant and often quite funny immigrant saga is one of my three favorite movies so far in 2007, along with “Zodiac” and Germany’s “The Lives of Others.” The Times of India offers the fascinating inside story of how this unique film came into existence. (Thanks to the invaluable Movie City News). This very special flick expands to 35 more screens this weekend. Don’t miss it.
Update: Fox Searchlight, which has done a great job marketing this movie, sent word that “The Namesake” has just broken the house record at the venerable Paris in Manhattan, where it took in $101,929 during its first week — overtaking the 10-year-old record set by the reissue of “Belle de Jour.”
