November 19, 2012–Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” which expanded to 1775 theaters nationwide on Friday, November 16, outpaced expectations by grossing over $21 million at the weekend box office.
This is good news for serious dramatic pictures in a landscape dominated by spectacles and action-adventures.
Last weekend, opening exclusively in 11 theaters nationwide, “Lincoln” pulled in a strong box office performance of just under $1 million. The film played in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, D.C., and averaged a prodigious $85,846 per screen.
The film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones, has grossed nearly $22.5 million in its first 10 days of release.
“Lincoln” is a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
No doubt, “Lincoln” benefited from strong critical support: According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 90 percent positive reviews, many grading it giving it as an A ot A- film.
From DreamWorks Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, in association with Participant Media, “Lincoln” is directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner, based in part on the book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.