DirectorYorgos Lanthimos is continuing his successful partnership with star Emma Stone, with the absurdist dark comedy Kinds of Kindness. The movie opened in five domestic locations this weekend, delivering the biggest per-theater average of the year as it gears up to expand into over 500 locations next weekend. While this kind of platform release is usually given to awards contenders in the fall, Kinds of Kindness is being released bang in the middle of summer by Searchlight Pictures, perhaps while the memory of Lanthimos and Stone’s Poor Things is still fresh.
Poor Things was a surprise smash hit, grossing nearly $120 million worldwide against a reported budget of $35 million, most of which was earned earlier this year. The movie had a similar release strategy, opening in nine locations in December before expanding in the following weeks. The film generated $644,000 in its first weekend, for a per-theater average of $72,000 — the third-best of 2023. By comparison, Kinds of Kindnessmade $350,000 in five locations, for a per-theater average of $70,000 — the best of the year so far. The movie will continue its expansion in the next few weeks.
Deviating in structure if not style from Lanthimos’ earlier work, Kinds of Kindness is an absurdist anthology film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival a couple of months ago. It reunites the Greek filmmaker not only with Stone but also with his frequent co-writer Efthimis Filippou and Poor Things composer Jerskin Fendrix and cinematographer Robbie Ryan. Jesse Plemons, who is coming off of a scene-stealing cameo in Alex Garland’s Civil War, won the Best Actor award at Cannes for his performance, even if the consensus around the movie was slightly mixed.
‘Kinds of Kindness’ Marks Lanthimos’ Third Collaboration with Stone
Kinds of Kindness holds a “fresh” 73% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. In his review, Collider’s Chase Hutchinson described it as a return to roots for Lanthimos, who made some truly disturbing films back in his home country before Hollywood came calling. Lanthimos’ English-language career began with The Lobster and continued with The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Favourite. He has received six Oscar nominations, most recently for producing and directing Poor Things.
Produced on a reported budget of $15 million, Kinds of Kindness has grossed nearly $1 million from overseas territories so far, for a very early global haul of $1.3 million. The movie also features Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer. Lanthimos will reunite with Stone and Plemons for his next film, Bugonia, which Collider exclusively reported had begun filming last month. Stay tuned for more updates.
