‘The Substance’ Becomes Mubi’s Biggest Box Office Success to Date as Company Plants Theatrical Flag in U.S. (EXCLUSIVE)
Coralie Fargeat’s bold, bloody and buzzy “The Substance” has become the most successful box office release for arthouse distributor and streamer Mubi.
The Demi Moore-starring body horror — which Mubi acquired for multiple territories before Cannes (where it won the best screenplay) for a figure rumoured to be in the low double-figures, its biggest acquisition to date — has a global box office after 10 days of $14.8 million, of which $13.6 million comes from Mubi’s markets.
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The figure easily surpasses the $10 million the company amassed earlier this year with “Priscilla,” which itself was a major moment in the trajectory of Mubi, founded by London-based Efe Cakarel in 2007, marking its widest release at the time (and surpassing its previous record holder “Aftersun” at the box office). But “The Substance” — which had a reported budget of $17.5 million — turns things up several notches further, becoming Mubi’s first wide release in the U.S. as it now looks plant a major flag domestically as an indie distributor.
Although the company doesn’t typically report box office numbers, after 10 days the “The Substance” has a North American box office of more than $7 million, including $2.1 million in its second week. Elsewhere, Mubi and its distribution partners have helped achieve a box office of $6.6 million, including an impressive $2 million from Mexico, $1.4 million from the rest of Latin America, $1.9 million from the U.K. and Ireland, plus almost $1.3 million from the Netherlands, Germany and Austria combined.
The North American box office will undoubtedly be the one given the most scrutiny, and for many $7 million may be solid enough for an arthouse release, but not a figure to be shouting about, nor is a per screen average of $1,617. But the numbers were enough for “The Substance” — an extreme, satirical and deeply gory genre title that isn’t for the faint of heart and comes in at 2 hours 20 minutes — to claim the sixth spot in the domestic box office in the first week.
Thanks to word-of-mouth — not to mention Moore’s own publicity drive that has seen her and co-star Margaret Qualley heavily promote the film across both the U.K. and U.S. (Moore has had slots on Graham Norton, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Hudson and Drew Barrymore’s talk shows in the last couple of weeks) — it managed an impressive hold in its second week, with just a 39% drop in the U.S. and 19% drop in the U.K. In Mexico, Latin American and several European territories, it even saw a box office rise in week two. There are hopes that the momentum for “The Substance” could give it another strong position going into week three and the release of “Joker: Foie à Deux.”
“It’s been extraordinary to see, not just the incredible reviews for this film, but the way that audiences have reacted to it — and even the way that people who may not like it are still talking about it,” says Eric Fellner of Working Title Films, which produced “The Substance”. “It’s always a risk when you’re working with a new distributor — or new anything — and this is no exception, but I think Mubi have done a wonderful job at getting the film out there, and it’s great to see how they’re pushing the film out beyond the first week, which is why we’re seeing such incredible numbers for week two.”
For Mubi, even if “The Substance” doesn’t break even (the company wouldn’t reveal its P&A spend), the overall box office tally may end up being less important. Indeed, success may boil down to whether its splashiest release as it ramps up its U.S. presence helps establish it as a new, innovative and daring speciality distributor in a market where A24 and Neon have previous dominated that space. Moore is already part of the awards conversation for a potential best actress nomination, something which — should it continue — further enhances the company’s brand recognition in the arthouse sector.
“The Substance” has also been the first capability test for Mubi’s new U.S. team, which has been scaled up to handle a film and release of this size and scope. Earlier this year, it tapped tapped Amazon MGM Studios and IFC vet Mark Boxer as its U.S. head of distribution, reporting to chief content officer Jason Ropell.
Upcoming U.S. releases for the team include Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan, Magnus von Horn’s chilling black and white drama “The Girl With the Needle,” and Berlinale winner “Dahomey.” While these may not have the same WTF factor — or anywhere near the same amount of blood and guts — as “The Substance,” they should help further establish Mubi’s presence in its newest territory.
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