An almost extinct breed of theatrical movie — a conventional drama aimed at elderly ticket buyers in the middle of the country — sent a reminder to Hollywood this weekend: If you build it (right), they’ll come.
“A Man Called Otto,” starring Tom Hanks as a cantankerous widower, is set to gross about $15 million over the four-day holiday weekend in the United States, for a total of $21 million since its limited release opening on Dec. 20, according to Comscore. Such a solid debut recently eluded pedigreed dramas like “Babylon,” “She Said,” “Amsterdam,” “Till,” and “The Fabelmans,” sparking concerns about the viability of dramas in theaters.
For the most part, these films are aimed at a coastal audience. However, “A Man Called Otto” was marketed to a domestic audience. Crowds came out in places like Detroit, Minneapolis, Denver and Salt Lake City, box office analysts said. None of the top 75 theaters for the movie were in Los Angeles or New York, which is very unusual.
Ticket sales were “particularly brisk in small-town theaters,” according to Sony Pictures Entertainment, which released the PG-13 film. About 60 percent of ticket buyers were women, and 46 percent of attendees were over the age of 55, Sony said. “A Man Called Otto” received warm reviews (68 percent positive, according to Rotten Tomatoes), with the obviousness of the plot being the main complaint. But ticket buyers loved it, witnessing a positive 96 percent ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Original adult movie audiences will absolutely return to the cinema, if we don’t forget them,” said Tom Rothman, the chairman of the Sony Motion Picture Group, in an email. “And if you hit a chord in Central America, it can be very strong.” At the beginning of the weekend, analysts had predicted that “A Man Called Otto” would bring in about $10 million, or 50 percent less than its actual result.
“A Man Called Otto” cost about $50 million to make (not including marketing costs), with funding shared between TSG Entertainment and SF Studios, a Swedish film and television company. A remake of a Swedish film and based on a bestseller, “A Man Called Otto” is the heartbreaking story of a depressed widower who strikes up an unusual friendship with a new neighbor. Hanks stars alongside Mariana Treviño and a cat named Smeagol. The film was directed by Marc Forster, known for ‘Finding Neverland’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’.
The weekend’s top films at the North American box office were leftovers from major releases. Ranked #1, “Avatar: The Way of Water” (Disney) collected about $38.5 million between Friday and Monday, for a five-week total of $563 million ($1.9 billion worldwide). “M3gan,” a horror comedy from Universal, took second place, with estimated ticket sales of $21.2 million, for a two-week total of $60 million ($91 million worldwide).
