Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet score best Amazon opening with ‘Beautiful Boy’

Amazon
Studios

• “Beautiful Boy” gave Amazon its best opening yet over the
  weekend and is set for a wide release November 2.
• It pulled in over $221,000 in just four theaters in Los
  Angeles and New York.
• The film’s opening is a step up from Amazon’s last release,
  “Life Itself,” which misfired at the box office.
• Amazon’s next release will be “Suspiria” later this month.

“Beautiful Boy,” starring Timothée Chalamet as a drug
addict and Steve Carell as his father, handed Amazon Studios its
best opening yet in just four theaters in Los Angeles and New
York, according to Indiewire.

The film grossed over $221,000 and over $55,000 per theater
despite mixed reviews from critics (it currently has a 64%
Rotten Tomatoes critic score).
Chalamet is a sought-after young actor after his breakout and
Oscar-nominated performance in last year’s “Call Me by Your
Name,” and his name seems to have meaning among audiences.

“Beautiful Boy” is set for a wide release on November
2.

The movie is a strong step in the right direction after
Amazon’s last release in September, the critically panned “Life
Itself,” which was directed by “This Is Us” creator Dan
Fogelman. Amazon bet on the film being a hit with audiences and
gave it the studio’s widest release yet. That backfired, as it
also became the biggest box-office flop of the
year.

“Life Itself” opened to only $2.1 million — the worst
opening this year for a movie released on over 2,500 screen
—  and went on to gross just over $4 million. But it
would have been “economic suicide” for the movie to start with a
limited release after the poor critical
reception, BoxOfficeAnalyst.com’s Doug Stone told Business Insider in
September. 

As for some of Amazon’s other releases this year, the
Joaquin Phoenix-starring revenge-thriller “You Were Never Really
Here” made just $2.5 million and Gus Van Sant’s “Don’t Worry, He
Won’t Get Far on Foot” made only $1.4 million domestically and $2
million worldwide.

Amazon’s next release is the remake of classic horror film
“Suspiria” from Luca Guadagnino, the director of “Call Me by Your
Name.” It comes to theaters October 26.