Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson and Mildred Hayes make a strong impression as the lead characters of “Lady Bird” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” respectively. So it’s fitting that these two forceful women made a splash at the box office over the weekend. According to a report from Deadline, “Lady Bird” and “Three Billboards” are soaring in their limited openings, which suggests even better things to come when they bow in wide release.
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut, is a coming-of-age story about a rebellious, self-mythologizing teen (Saoirse Ronan) living in Sacramento, California. The film opened in four theaters November 3 and netted over $375,600, “the year’s best opening weekend per theater average.” This past weekend it became the “best regional expansion of the year” with $1.24M in 37 theaters across the country. “Also impressive is that ‘Lady Bird’ managed to land in the top 10 at the box office, though the film is in far fewer locations than its fellow top 10ers,” making it “all but guaranteed to be a box office darling,” the source concludes. The film opens in wide release November 22, and currently boasts a 100 percent “Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes, which bodes well for its Oscar chances.
“Three Billboards” stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a grieving mother who takes on the local police force after they fail to find the person who raped and killed her teenage daughter. The film debuted this past Friday in four locations and took in $320,000, the highest per theater average of the weekend and “the year’s third-highest opening weekend per theater average.”
“We thought it would have about a $60K opening weekend average,” remarked Fox Searchlight’s Frank Rodriguez, “but to be in the upper echelons of what we thought really does thrill us.”
The TIFF People’s Choice Award-winner will continue to roll out in limited release throughout the rest of the month before opening wide December 1.
Both Ronan and McDormand are considered frontrunners in the Best Actress race.
