Maddie’s Secret by John Early is doing brisk business at the IFC Center as screenings fill up for opening weekend of the Magnolia Pictures’ comedy. Critically acclaimed Rose Of Nevada from 1-2 Special and Sony Pictures Classics’ Unidentified also debut in limited release along with music docs on Greg Allman and Peter Asher. Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko is on 500 screens. A24’s Hugh Jackman-starring The Death Of Robin Hood by Michael Sarnoski and Neon’s queer horror Leviticus, acquired out of Sundance are wide.
It’s the most interesting new indie lineup in weeks at a box office energized by Obsession and Backrooms.
Maddie’s Secret, comedian, writer, and actor Early’s directorial debut, opens exclusively at the IFC in New York where helmer Q&As (moderators include John Wilson, Brace Belden and Ivy Wolk) have sold out and more added, and with most other screenings at or near capacity. The film, which premiered at TIFF and played New Directors/New Films in NYC, sits at 84% on Rotten Tomatoes (off 38 reviews).
Early also stars as Maddie, a plucky dishwasher who leaps to viral superstardom at a trendy food content creation company. While her life seems picturesque, complete with a devoted husband (Eric Rahill) and ride-or-die best friend (Kate Berlant), mounting professional pressures reawaken her long-dormant struggle with an eating disorder. Unwilling to shatter her image, Maddie unravels quietly, in secret.
Expands nationwide next week including major play across the Alamo Drafthouse circuit with a wider break July 3.
Rose of Nevada debuts at Film at Lincoln Center, IFC Center and the Landmark Nuart. The sci-fi thriller by Cornish writer-director Mark Jenkin (Bait, Enys Men) has a rarefied 100% RT Certified Fresh ratiing. See Deadline review. Jenkin also edits and scores the time-travel mystery starring George McKay and Callum Turner.
Three decades ago, the Rose of Nevada vanished at sea, along with its crew. It’s mysterious reappearance is embraced by a remote fishing village as an auspicious sign, with locals convinced the luck of their economically devastated community may turn if only the ship sails again. Joining the crew is Nick (MacKay), desperate to provide for his young family, and Liam (Turner), a mysterious drifter eager to escape his past.
Crime thriller Unidentified from Sony Pictures Classics opens on 95 screens nationwide. The film, written and directed by pioneering Saudi helmer Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda, The Perfect Candidate), premiered at TIFF and just played the Tribeca Festival.
When the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the desert, Noelle Al Saffan (Mila Al Zahrani), a newly divorced, true crime aficionado who recently lost a child of her own, gets obsessively involved. Despite a ticking clock that seemingly guarantees the girl’s senseless death will be discarded as a cold case, Noelle is determined to uncover the truth.
Focus Features’ Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko in her feature directorial debut opens on 500 screens. The coming-of-age romance starring Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy is based on Kiyoko’s hit song, 2015 viral music video and 2023 New York Times bestselling novel, all of the same name and premise: Coley (da Costa) and Sonya (Molloy) are in love, but Sonya’s boyfriend is in the way.
The campaign partnered with queer organizations and creators, mobilizing Kiyoko’s dedicated fanbase through activations and Pride events nationwide. Screenplay by Kiyoko and Stefanie Scott on the story by Kiyoko and Chloe Okuno. Produced by Marc Platt, Katie McNicol, Dee Best, Michael Philip, Jason Moring and Richard Alan Reid.
Gregg Allman: The Music Of My Soul, a doc about the late founder of the Allman Brothers Band from director James Keach (Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me) has pivoted from a one-night event this past Wednesday to encore showings through next weekend by popular demand. With 199 runs booked nationally, it continues this weekend in 25 cities including NYC, LA, Atlanta and more.
The first theatrical release from new distributor Subtext Films features performances and archival recordings as it traces Allman’s journey from a childhood scarred by his father’s murder to the heights of Southern rock and late-life sobriety, exploring grief, addiction, love and the racially charged American South through his music. With Gregg Allman, Jackson Browne, Chuck Leavell, Devon Allman, Don Was.
Greenwich Entertainment debuts Peter Asher: Everywhere Man at the Quad Cinema in NYC. Directed and produced by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller (Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song), the documentary chronicles Asher’s remarkable six-decade journey through the worlds of pop, folk, and rock, from his early British Invasion chart-topping fame as half of the iconic duo Peter & Gordon and his close friendship with Paul McCartney, to his groundbreaking work as a producer and manager for artists such as James Taylor and Lina Ronstadt. Adds LA next weekend.
Neon’s queer horror Leviticus, writer-director Adrian Chiarella’s’ feature directorial debut, opens at 1,075 theaters. Two teenage boys (Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen) must escape a violent entity that takes the form of a person they desire the most — each other. Mia Wasikowska also stars. The film (from Talk to Me producers Samanta Jennings and Kristina Ceyton at Causeway Films and Hannah Ngo) is 93% RT Certified Fresh.
Neon acquired the film in a $10+ million deal off its Sundance premiered in the Midnight section. It opened New Directors/New Films in NYC.
A24’s Hugh Jackman-starring The Death Of Robin Hood by Michael Sarnoski opens on 1,760 screens. This version, starring Hugh Jackman, turns the old story on its head. Robin is no hero but after being injured in battle finds a chance of salvation in the hands of a mysterious woman (Jodi Comer). Bill Skarsgard, Murray Bartlett, Faith Delaney and Noah Jupe also star. Sarnoski shot the R-rated period drama on 35mm in Northern Ireland. Deadline review here.
Road To Everywhere starring Whip Hubley drives into the Village East in New York for a one-week engagement, the second stop on a national roadshow.
Thirty years after he played Los Angeles cab driver Jason Schuyler in the 1996 film Driven, Hubley returns to the role joined by Grammy-winning Native American artist Robert Mirabal as Jake, a Navajo casino dealer returning home after three decades away to see his grandson compete in a Native rodeo. What begins as a long drive becomes something larger.
Mirabal and his band will play the opening night of each engagement on the tour, which started Wednesday in LA after sold out previews in New Mexico and Colorado. It heads toHouston, Albuquerque and Santa Fe next.
