Wes Anderson | featured news

While big-budget blockbusters were dueling it out at the multiplex this weekend, an independent film quietly made history at the box office. "Moonrise Kingdom,"Wes Anderson's quirky 1960s-set dramedy about two kids who run off into the wilderness, grossed $669,486 over the four-day Memorial Day holiday. But by Sunday, the film had already racked up a per-location average of $130,752 while playing in four theaters — the highest average ever for a non-animated film, said the film's distributor Focus Features. Previously, that record was held by 2006's "Dreamgirls," which debuted with an average of $126,317 at three cinemas.

But to come out ahead, Sony's 3D tentpole will need plenty of kids and families to turn out over the long Memorial Day weekend; horror pic "Chernobyl Diaries" opens in the No. 4 spot with $3.5 milllion, Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" soars at the specialty box office.read more