With a total of fifty-three theaters, achieving a single-theater box office of $41,100 and a weekend gross of $2.18M, "Buried" secured its spot among the top ten on the weekend box office chart, ranking ninth.
In terms of box office figures, "Buried" delivered a flawless performance. Considering this was the third week of limited release, the single-theater box office remained impressively robust, maintaining a level around $40,000 for three consecutive weeks, reviving the myth that was "The Blair Witch Project."
Taking into account the impact of "127 Hours", "Buried" displayed an uncommonly strong appeal, receiving enthusiastic acclaim from professional audiences in five major cities, particularly in the exceptionally demanding art scenes of New York and Los Angeles. To maintain such performance was truly astonishing.
Considering the competition from three commercial films in the market, "Buried" reaped a weekend box office of millions. With a mere fifty-three theaters in its limited release arsenal, it firmly secured a spot among the top ten films for the first week of November's North American weekend box office, following closely behind "The Social Network" in its sixth week of release. This was indeed impressive.
While "Buried" lagged far behind "127 Hours" in terms of critical acclaim, the film showcased tremendous commercial potential, proving its excellence. After three weeks in theaters, its cumulative box office earnings had reached an impressive $4.5M. For Focus Features, this meant that their Toronto gamble had already paid off, and they were poised to enter the profit phase. This was undoubtedly great news.
Hence, it would be premature to conclude that "Buried" would trail behind "127 Hours" in the awards season competition. These two films were poised for a fierce showdown in the upcoming awards season. Survival against all odds, a one-man performance, Fox Searchlight versus Focus Features – in this protracted competition, who would emerge victorious was destined to be captivating. However, for the time being, Focus Features seemed to be channeling more attention into the expansion plan for "Buried".
The current expansion wasn't just about striving for box office revenue; it also held profound implications for the awards season strategy, a significance that far exceeded imagination.
In the second week of November, Focus Features finally embarked on an extensive expansion, increasing the number of screening venues to a staggering 141, almost covering all major cities. After two weeks of word-of-mouth fermentation and a series of online promotions on platforms like IMDb, Facebook, and Instagram, "Buried" finally saw a surge in box office results.
The single-theater box office continued to maintain a robust average of $19,586, resulting in a triumphant $2.76M over the weekend.
Over the course of the limited release period, the film had experienced four consecutive weeks of green growth in box office figures. "Buried" showcased an undeniable momentum in the market, and although the viewing fervor in Los Angeles and New York had gradually tapered off, the fervent enthusiasm from other cities successfully propelled "Buried" to seventh place on the North American weekend box office chart.
It's worth noting that in the weekend of this week, "Buried" had already overtaken "Saw 3D." It trailed "Paranormal Activity 2" by a mere gap of less than $100,000. In the fierce Halloween period competition, "Paranormal Activity 2" might have taken the upper hand, but the true victor was "Buried".
This development sparked various reports, and countless news outlets marveled at the strong performance of "Buried". Despite its initial disadvantages, the film held its ground in direct competition with "Saw 3D" and "Paranormal Activity 2". In the annual "Horror Showdown", it had secured a solid place, standing proudly against its competitors and claiming a seat in the battle of terror!
Now, "Buried" wasn't just capturing attention in print media; it had also managed to catch the eye of the television world.
Atop the popular Ellen Show, host Ellen DeGeneres stated in the opening of her latest episode, "Last weekend, Portia and a few friends watched a movie together. She had a nightmare about it that night, and it scared her so much. For the next few days, she couldn't stop talking about the male lead in that movie. I almost thought she fell in love with him."
Portia de Rossi, Ellen's wife, the two of them a legally married same-sex couple. Last year, they even surpassed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in several year-end polls, considered the most influential couple in America.
The audience burst into laughter upon hearing Ellen's jest, eliciting a wide grin from Portia as well. "It certainly piqued my interest. Last night, I finally had the chance to watch that movie. Whew, I finally understand what Portia felt. I was so affected that I even refused to enter the bathroom this morning. I had Portia hand me my toothbrush and I brushed my teeth in the living room. Yes, that movie awakened my claustrophobia."
The entire audience erupted in laughter once again. Ellen spread her arms wide, feigning innocence. "Since this movie declined my invitation to promote it on my show, I won't mention its name here. Unless that handsome male lead is willing to come on my show."
Although Ellen's words conveyed that message, as she spoke, she reclined on her couch, her hands placed on her chest, portraying a terrified expression. The large screen in the background even displayed a poster imitating "Buried's" official poster. The implication couldn't be clearer.
As one of the most popular talk shows currently, the influence of the Ellen Show was naturally extraordinary. Moreover, NBC TV aired a sketch comedy variety show SNL, which has run for 35 seasons, and they also playfully mocked "Buried".
In one segment of the show, they shot a short film where Andy Samberg played the role of Renly, trapped inside a cardboard box.
Andy went all out in his eccentric performance, imitating various details from the movie, especially the part where the rattlesnake enters the box. He even cried with a runny nose and teary eyes. In the end, he transformed into the Hulk, tore apart the box, only to realize he wasn't Buried but was instead inside a coffin placed right in front of the church. All the guests stared at him looking dumbfounded. Then Andy bowed apologetically and left the scene dejectedly.
This satirical short film received widespread acclaim and garnered praise on the internet. It was even considered one of the highest-quality skits after the new season premiered this year.
The television program's parody and mentions undoubtedly served as the ultimate affirmation of "Buried". This obscure independent film had, in essence, broken free from its shackles and become one of the hottest topics of the moment.
Behind all this, Focus Features' prowess in public relations was beginning to shine through.
A work that could ignite so many discussions during its limited release phase was undoubtedly baffling. From the opening in Toronto and Telluride to the midnight frenzy triggered by the "Renly Hall" effect, the collective presence of the "Fast 5" crew, the comparison to "Paranormal Activity 2", not to mention the crucial assist from "127 Hours", all combined with the film's inherent quality, have all contributed to the current blazing popularity of "Buried"!
Weekend box office earnings had consecutively risen for four weeks, maintaining a commendable $40,000 per single-screen weekend for three consecutive weeks. The ongoing discussions on social media platforms and IMDb had heated up for four straight weeks. "Buried" had indeed carved out its own legend, a Hollywood myth sought after by independent films.
However, the journey of "Buried" was far from over. Following that, Focus Features steadily embarked on its expansion strategy.
In the third week of November, 324 venues; in the fourth week of November, 453 venues... step by step, they finally reached wide release status in the third week of December, with screenings in 716 theaters. It was only just meeting the minimum requirements for wide release, but it was undoubtedly the biggest affirmation of "Buried"!
By the end of the second week of December, within eight weeks of its release, "Buried" had held a spot in the top ten weekend box office for five consecutive weeks. As an independent film that had not yet reached wide release status, such outstanding box office performance had shocked the entire industry. Its cumulative box office earnings had even exceeded a whopping $18M!
As of now, $20M was virtually guaranteed. The industry's expectations for "Buried" had adjusted to $40M. If the film could perform well during the awards season, breaking $50M was not an impossible task. Especially considering Focus Features hadn't invested significantly in promotional efforts, achieving such results was all the more commendable.
It was precisely because of this that Focus Features steadily expanded the screening lineup for "Buried". It was evident that box office revenue was no longer the primary concern; the awards season strategy had taken precedence. The awards season spanned a lengthy period, from December through to the end of March. With nearly three months left before the Oscar voting deadline, the key to winning votes was to consistently remain in the judges' field of vision.
Focus Features, with its shrewdness, rich experience, and accurate positioning, demonstrated its prowess to the fullest at this moment. If North American distribution rights of "Buried" had fallen into Lionsgate's hands after its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, the current situation would have been different.
At least, Lionsgate wouldn't have sacrificed "Saw 3D" to promote "Buried". In that case, if "Buried" had been given a different release date, could it still have achieved such impressive results?
That answer, no one knew, and no one cared. Because the current distributor for "Buried" was Focus Features, which was methodically advancing with steady steps through the awards season.
In the fourth week of January, the Golden Globe Awards concluded, and the Oscar nomination list was announced. The screening scale for "Buried" had reached its peak, with a whopping 1,200 theaters showing the film! This marked the first time "Buried" had surpassed the 1,000-theater mark for screenings. Simultaneously, the film's box office performance did not disappoint, achieving $2.5M in earnings over the weekend and once again reclaiming a spot in the top ten weekend box office rankings in North America.
And this was already the 15th week since the release of "Buried", its exceptional performance defying expression by any language.