Fresh product continued to rule in a distressed exhibition marketplace as RLJE Films’ Tax Collector grossed an estimated $317K at 129 theaters. Tax Collector is the third new title after Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour and IFC’s The Rental to top the box office since the pandemic began in mid-March.
We’ll know for certain which film is No. 1 tomorrow, but it’s looking like Tax Collector can claim that bounty. Disney had 20th Century Studios’ Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back on the charts at 260 sites, and its Friday-Saturday haul of $174K indicates it’s headed for a No. 2 ranking in the low $200K range. Episode V‘s estimated lifetime cume is $292.1M.
The David Ayer directed action thriller follows a “tax collector” who works for a local crime lord and finds his family’s safety compromised when the rival of his boss shows up in L.A. and upends the business. Shia LaBeouf and Bobby Soto stars.
Word began to spread yesterday that Tax Collector was doing quite well, clocking $115K for the day. The film played at a mix of the nation’s top drive-ins and key indoor venues. At the Vineland Drive-In just outside Los Angeles, The Tax Collector charted both the highest Saturday and second-highest Friday single-day grosses since their reopening. Vineland did so well, they added a second screening last night.
Also, I hear Tax Collector did stellar VOD/digital numbers clearing $1M for the weekend, and ranking No. 1 on iTunes.
MORE….