M8 Entertainment Inc. (TSE: MEE.MV.A and MEE.SV.B) reported today that its dramatic comedy The Upside of Anger placed in the top ten at the North American box office in its first week of wide release. Playing on 1,111 screens, the film grossed a total of $4.0 million over the weekend ended April 3, for a per screen average of $3,623. That brings the film's total gross, since opening in limited release on March 11, to over $8.6 million. The film is being released in the U.S. by New Line Cinema and in Canada by Alliance Atlantis.
This is the second consecutive film produced by M8 Entertainment to break into the Top Ten at the North American box office. M8's previous release Monster, for which Charlize Theron won an Academy Award, also placed in the top ten for the week ended March 11, 2004, on its way to grossing over $35 million domestically and over $60 million worldwide.
“We are extremely pleased with the strong debut the film has made in its first week of wide release,” stated Jenna Sanz-Agero, President of M8 Entertainment. “The film has been receiving favorable critical reviews, and we hope that the positive word of mouth will keep the box office strong as it continues to play nationally,” further added Sanz-Agero.
Written and directed by Mike Binder, The Upside of Anger stars Academy Award nominee Joan Allen and Academy Award winner Kevin Costner, along with Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, and Alicia Witt. In the film, Allen stars as the sharp-witted Terry Wolfmeyer, a suburban wife and mother who is left to raise her four headstrong daughters when her husband unexpectedly disappears. Things get even more hectic when Terry falls for her neighbor Denny, played by Kevin Costner.
M8 Entertainment is a leading independent film company engaged in the production, acquisition, financing, and worldwide licensing of theatrical feature films in a variety of genres. Following Monster's success, M8 is nearing completion on a number of feature films, including Running Scared, an action/drama by acclaimed director Wayne Kramer (The Cooler) and starring Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) which New Line Cinema recently acquired the U.S. rights for; and Lovewrecked, a charming teen comedy starring Amanda Bynes (What A Girl Wants) and directed by Randal Kleiser (Grease, Honey I Blew Up the Kid). Also in post-production is the Mike Binder written and directed Man About Town, which stars Academy Award winner Ben Affleck and Rebecca Romijn. |
