“No Different Land” is probably the most acclaimed movie of 2024 with out U.S. distribution, be it due to apprehension over embracing a narrative concerning the Palestinian-Israeli battle or due to normal concern for the documentary market theatrically.
And but, even with out a correct distributor backing it, the movie has grossed simply shy of $420,000 on the home field workplace. What’s extra spectacular — or maybe extra unhappy, contemplating the state of documentary movie — is that the movie is now the highest-grossing characteristic among the many 5 doc options nominated on the Oscars this yr.
In line with information from Comscore, “Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat” (Kino Lorber) is the subsequent highest with $320,530 cumulative as of February 25. “Porcelain Struggle” (Picturehouse Movies) got here in at No. 3 with $215,826 cumulative, and No. 4 “Sugarcane” (Variance Movies) has $112,251 cumulative. “Black Field Diaries” (MTV Documentary Movies) had no reported numbers by way of Comscore however had a launch on October 25, and Field Workplace Mojo lists a worldwide gross of $33,228.
“No Different Land” first began enjoying theaters on January 31 and opened at New York Metropolis’s Movie Discussion board to roughly $26,000 in its first week, with Movie Discussion board providing the discharge only one week after Oscar nominations got here out. This previous weekend, “No Different Land” doubled its display screen rely to 54 screens and posted a per-screen common of $1,780.
And that rise received’t cease after the Oscars, as this coming weekend it stands to increase once more to 83 screens.
After first successful the Berlinale Documentary Award and the Viewers Award at Berlin now over a yr in the past, “No Different Land” has sat with out distribution from U.S. patrons, however a person with data of the movie’s launch technique instructed IndieWire the filmmakers collectively teamed with impartial distribution advisor Michael Tuckman to assist plan its launch. Since then, its platform launch has been pretty conventional, focusing on the coasts and typical indie arthouses earlier than increasing wider to different main cities.
It could not be the primary current movie to search out success as an impartial launch. In reality, one other movie on the Oscars shortlist, the political doc “Union,” additionally went with out correct distribution and managed to earn roughly $10,000 on the field workplace, in keeping with Comscore information.
However the doc market theatrically in 2024 was in as dire a spot as ever. The highest launch of final yr was “Am I Racist?,” the satirical doc from conservative pundit Matt Walsh as launched by The Each day Wire, pulling in $12.3 million cumulative in keeping with Comscore. The animated Pharrell doc “Piece by Piece” got here shut with roughly $10 million globally, and the current launch of “Turning into Led Zeppelin” is the one documentary to date this yr with an opportunity to catch it.
“As a style, the documentary movie has traditionally had blended outcomes on the field workplace,” Comscore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian instructed IndieWire. “This can be due partially to the just about limitless provide of some really glorious long-form multi-episode documentary sequence which can be accessible on each streaming platform recognized to man, and thus the theatrically launched movies usually wrestle to discover a broad viewers sufficient to generate substantial field workplace.”
However the success of movies like “No Different Land” and “Eno” (additionally from final yr) are proving that, perhaps there’s an viewers for documentaries in theaters in any case.