Christmas Day will bring a cluster of specialty titles to the box office, but some films got a head start this weekend. Leading them is A24’s “The Brutalist,” which opened on four screens in New York and Los Angeles this weekend and grossed $266,791 for a strong average of $66,700.
Starring Adrien Brody as Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian architect who struggles to fulfill his artistic vision after emigrating to America after World War II, “The Brutalist” has earned critical acclaim since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where director Brady Corbet won the Silver Lion. It has earned seven Golden Globe nominations, putting it alongside films like “Anora,” “Conclave” and “Emilia Perez” in the Oscar race.
With a 215-minute run time and an emotionally grueling second half, “The Brutalist” will have limited appeal with mass audiences. But a 15-minute intermission could help get curious moviegoers who are antsy about the length off the fence, and A24 is giving the film a month’s run exclusively in New York and Los Angeles to build word of mouth before expanding nationwide on January 24, a week after Oscar nominations are released…