Irish Film 'Once' Rivals 'Shrek The Third' And Spiderman 3' At US Box Office

In a limited release, the award winning Irish film ‘Once’ drew a higher per-screen average than ‘Shrek the Third’ and ‘Spiderman 3’ in its opening weekend the US.
The per-screen average divides the amount of money taken at the box office by the number of screens it is being shown on and is the industry barometer which rates a films success.
Playing in just two cinemas, one in New York and another in Los Angeles, ‘Once’ made a €31,000 per-screen average compared with €29,500 for ‘Shrek the Third’ and €6,700 for ‘Spiderman 3’. A very positive press response and word-of-mouth have been building momentum for the film and ‘Once’ has since opened in 11 more cities in the US and Canada and has also expanded its reach in New York and Los Angeles. Based on the performance to date, openings and expansions are set to continue through the month of June when backers believe that the release will surpass 100 theatres.
Written and directed by John Carney and produced by Martina Niland and executive produced by David Collins with the assistance of the Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board and RTE, ‘Once’ is a modern-day musical set on the streets of Dublin which tells the story of a busker (Glen Hansard) and an immigrant (Marketa Irglova), who fall in love over an eventful week, as they write and record a number of songs.
(DS/SP)