Solid Box-Office Debut: David Cronenberg / Robert Pattinson COSMOPOLIS

Robert Pattinson Cosmopolis movie: highest per-theater average last weekend in North America

Directed by David Cronenberg and starring Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis had a solid, though not exactly outstanding, opening in the United States. Whether because of the recent Kristen Stewart / Rupert Sanders "cheating scandal" or because of several key positive reviews, or a combination of both, Cosmopolis brought in a respectable $70,339 — slightly lower than the initially estimated $72,300 — at three locations this past weekend, Aug. 17-19, according to box-office actuals found at Box Office Mojo.

Cosmopolis‘ per-theater average was the highest on Box Office Mojo’s weekend chart: $23,446. Next in line was Jake Schreier / Frank Langella’s Robot & Frank with $17,770 at two theaters. Remember, all things being equal, the lower the number of theaters, the higher the per-theater average should be.

Of course, Cosmopolis‘ per-theater average is well below those of other prestigious platform releases such as Tom Hooper / Colin Firth’s The King’s Speech ($355,450 at four theaters), Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom ($130,749 at four theaters), or Lisa Cholodenko / Annette Bening / Julianne Moore’s The Kids Are All Right ($70,282 at seven theaters). But such comparisons would be absurd. Unlike David Cronenberg’s off-the-wall effort, those movies are highly accessible crowd pleasers. Even Cronenberg’s own A Dangerous Method ($41,988 at four locations last year), which stars Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, and Viggo Mortensen, was a much more accessible film.

Cosmopolis vs. other offbeat David Cronenberg efforts

So, here are a handful of comparisons to Cronenberg’s other offbeat efforts: Spider, featuring Ralph Fiennes, averaged only $5,575 (approximately $7,700 today) at one location in 2002. Back in 1996, at a time when arthouse moviegoing was radically different than it is today, Crash, starring James Spader and Holly Hunter, averaged a remarkable $17,579 (approx. $31,900) at 42 theaters. Featuring Jude Law, eXistenZ opened at 256 theaters in April 1999, averaging $3,165 (approx. $5,000 today) per site. Once again: a lower per-theater average is to be expected for a movie opening at a much larger number of venues.

Cosmopolis movie cast

In addition to Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis features Juliette Binoche, Samantha Morton, Paul Giamatti, Mathieu Amalric, Sarah Gadon, Jay Baruchel, Kevin Durand, Emily Hampshire, and K’Naan. David Cronenberg wrote the screenplay based on Don DeLillo’s novel.

Robert Pattinson Cosmopolis movie picture: Alfama Films