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The acclaimed new film Roadrunner: a film about Anthony Bourdain did big business in its box office debut over the weekend, marking the biggest weekend opening for a documentary – or any specialty film – during the pandemic time.
Roadrunner grossed an impressive $ 1.9 million from 927 locations for Focus Features and CNN Films. The critically-acclaimed documentary is a poignant chronicle of Bourdain, the chef-turned-popular television host who committed suicide in 2018. Many of his relatives have worked with Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville.
The specialty films sector has been particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The performance of Roadrunner helps signal that the independent industry is rebounding from A24’s successful debut Zola and projector Summer of the soul (the latter is also a doc.)
Roadrunner performed best on the ribs, with up to four of the top 10 races arriving from New York as arthouse theaters begin to make a comeback. New York’s Angelika Film Center tops the list and has recorded a record number since reopening.
Neville’s credits include Oscar winner 20 feet of fame, the winner of an Emmy The best of enemies and critically acclaimed doc Fred Rogers Won’t you be my neighbor?, which broke box office records in 2018 for a biographical documentary.
Roadrunner became the subject of heated debate on social media last week when Neville revealed in an interview with The New Yorker he had used artificial intelligence to recreate Bourdain’s voice for 45 seconds. The use of AI is not disclosed in the film.
Ottavia Busia, Bourdain’s ex-wife, fueled the debate on July 16 by tweeting: “I was definitely NOT the one who said Tony would have been cool with this.”
New Yorker author Helen Rosner wrote a follow-up article on July 17 on the matter. She revealed that Neville wrote her a note earlier today stating that the idea of AI “was part of my initial pitch of asking Tony to tell the movie posthumously. Sunset Boulevard – one of Tony’s favorite movies and the one he had even reconstructed himself on Cook’s visit“, adding:” I didn’t mean that Ottavia thought Tony would have liked him. All I know is that no one has ever expressed any reservations to me. “
Rosner also revealed that Busia told him, via email, that Busia did indeed remember Neville bringing up the topic of using AI in early conversations, but she didn’t realize it. that it had been used. “I believe Morgan thought he had everyone’s blessing to move forward,” Busia wrote to Rosner. “I made the decision to withdraw from the process early on because it was just too painful for me.”
Roadrunner marks Neville’s biggest box office opening to date. That’s because his other films opened in some theaters – usually New York and Los Angeles – before expanding. This exit practice has long been favored by specialty distributors, but has been blocked by the pandemic as LA and New York were two of the last markets to reopen.
“To be the first specialty film of the year and the highest in Morgan’s illustrious career is truly a pleasure for all of us at Focus and a testament to the legacy created by Bourdain,” said the president of Focus cast Lisa Bunnell. “We hope it has a great run throughout the summer and a positive sign that we are getting back to normal for our business and our show partners.”
The documentary will then air on CNN and then air on HBO Max after its premium VOD debut in three weeks.
The last documentary to open up was in August 2019 with the boy band BTS doc Bring the soul, which debuted at $ 2.3 million.
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