We might finally see some light returning to the specialty box office this Memorial Day weekend.
Bố Già (Dad, I’m Sorry) is a comedy-family drama directed by comedian and Vietnam television host Trấn Thành and Vũ Ngọc Đãng. The movie is an adaptation of a hit web drama that was originally released on YouTube, where it garnered more than 90 million views for its five-episode run.
The film follows the story of Sang, an old motorbike taxi driver from a low-class neighborhood in downtown Saigon, as he struggles to make ends meet for his family.
It was planned to hit domestic screens during the Lunar New Year holidays but was postponed by COVID-19 until this weekend.
Estimates have Bố Già earning between $350-380 thousand dollars on 20 screens, give or take. If the Galaxy Studio-distributed film closes out strong this 4-day weekend, the Vietnamese-language comedy-drama will average $15-20K per screen. To date this year, a limited-release film would be considered to have premiered well if it averaged a grand per screen. Reports say that Vietnamese communities had strong showings in the Southern California, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta markets.
After Bố Già, the limited release space was a little sleepy.
Vertical Entertainment’s American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally premiered this weekend to 33 screens.The historical drama starring Al Pacino follows the life of American woman Mildred Gillars (Williams) and her lawyer (Pacino), who struggles to redeem her reputation. The World War 2 drama grossed about $14K.
Next we have the Danielle Lessovitz-helmed drama Port Authority.
The film follows Paul, played by Fionn Whitehead, who arrives at NYC’s dizzying central station with nowhere to go after getting kicked out of his home in central Pennsylvania. A momentary encounter with Wye (Leyna Bloom), a trans woman of color, leads him to seek her out. Transfixed by her beauty and confidence, a love soon blossoms. But as the two learn more about each other, Paul’s false narratives begin to surface and the double life he lives must be reconciled.
The Momentum Pictures-released drama grossed $11k at only 7 screen, giving it a high average of $1560 per screen. The film will also see a digital release on June 1.