*Magnolia Pictures’ Oscar-nominated documentary “I Am Not Your Negro” had theaters packed over the weekend, putting it on track to be one of the year’s highest-grossing non-fiction films, according to Deadline.com.
“With narration by Samuel L. Jackson, the film traces race in” modern America through James Baldwin’s unfinished novel Remember This House.
Magnolia opened the Raoul Peck-directed work in 43 theaters in 18 markets this weekend, grossing $709,000 and averaging $16,500.
The studio said it added showtimes “to accommodate the rush of patrons.” The documentary’s screening at Film Society of Lincoln Center and Film Forum in New York are both on target to break their historical house records for an opening weekend gross, according to the distributor, with both theaters selling out every show Friday and Saturday and into Sunday. AMC’s Magic Johnson theater in Harlem grossed $42,000.
“Our audiences around the country are diverse, enthusiastic and engaged,” Magnolia said Sunday when reporting numbers. “Standing ovations have been followed by impromptu discussion in theater lobbies. It’s a film that creates conversation and it’s incredibly gratifying to see people reacting to it so strongly.”
Magnolia said Sunday the company will expand “I Am Not Your Negro” aggressively in the next two weeks.
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