The below list only includes domestic (U.S. and Canada only, unless otherwise indicated) grosses for specialty films — which we define to include independent, foreign (including Bollywood films), and/or documentary films — that opened in limited release (599 screens and under) in 2018 AND/OR were acquired or produced for 2018 distribution by an independent distributor (including STX Films, Annapurna, A24, Entertainment Studios, Amazon, Netflix, Aviron, and Bleecker Street) or a studio or its specialty division (including Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, and Focus Features).
When provided, this list also includes budgets for each film. Last year’s list can be found here.
Grosses include all reported grosses (via BoxOfficeMojo) up to May 8, 2018. This chart is updated every Tuesday afternoon.
1. “I Can Only Imagine”
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Budget (if reported): $7M
Release Date: March 16
Opening Theater Count: 1,627
Opening Average: $10,513
Current Gross: $81,897,642
2. “Den of Thieves”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $30M
Release Date: January 19
Opening Theater Count: 2,432
Opening Average: $6,253
Current Gross: $44,947,622
3. “I Feel Pretty”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $32M
Release Date: April 20
Opening Theater Count: 3,440
Opening Average: $4,660
Current Gross: $37,948,803
4. “Isle of Dogs”
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 23
Opening Theater Count: 27
Opening Average: $59,825
Current Gross: $28,469,671
5. “Strangers: Prey at Night”
Distributor: Aviron Pictures
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 9
Opening Theater Count: 2,464
Opening Average: $4,222
Current Gross: $24,402,691
“The Strangers: Prey at Night”
Brian Dogulas
6. “Chappaquiddick”
Distributor: Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: April 6
Opening Theater Count: 1,560
Opening Average: $3,696
Current Gross: $16,523,371
7. “Forever My Girl”
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Budget (if reported): $3.5M
Release Date: January 19
Opening Theater Count: 1,114
Opening Average: $3,811
Current Gross: $16,375,622
8. “Padmaavat”
Distributor: Viva Pictures
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: January 25
Opening Theater Count: 324
Opening Average: $13,674
Current Gross: $11,846,060
9. “The Miracle Season”
Distributor: Mirror
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: April 6
Opening Theater Count: 1,707
Opening Average: $2,314
Current Gross: $9,722,748
10. “Midnight Sun”
Distributor: Global Road (Open Road)
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 23
Opening Theater Count: 2,173
Opening Average: $1,843
Current Gross: $9,554,925
11. “Unsane”
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 26
Opening Theater Count: 2,023
Opening Average: $1,860
Current Gross: $7,732,899
“Unsane”
12. “The Death of Stalin”
Distributor: IFC Films
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 9
Opening Theater Count: 4
Opening Average: $46,201
Current Gross: $7,479,752
13. “The Hurricane Heist”
Distributor: Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
Budget (if reported): $35M
Release Date: March 9
Opening Theater Count: 2,402
Opening Average: $1,259
Current Gross: $6,114,714
14. “Every Day”
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: February 23
Opening Theater Count: 1,667
Opening Average: $1,809
Current Gross: $6,102,076
15. “God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness”
Distributor: Pure Flix
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 30
Opening Theater Count: 1,693
Opening Average: $1,589
Current Gross: $5,635,388
16. “Gringo”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 9
Opening Theater Count: 2,404
Opening Average: $1,132
Current Gross: $4,969,853
“Gringo”
17. “Beirut”
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: April 11
Opening Theater Count: 755
Opening Average: $2,297
Current Gross: $4,782,425
18. “Samson”
Distributor: Pure Flix
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: February 16
Opening Theater Count: 1,249
Opening Average: $1,556
Current Gross: $4,719,928
19. “The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2018”
Distributor: Shorts International
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: February 9
Opening Theater Count: 198
Opening Average: $3,510
Current Gross: $3,508,777
20. “Tully”
Distributor: Focus Features
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: May 4
Opening Theater Count: 1,353
Opening Average: $2,426
Current Gross: $3,282,610
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