Marcel the Shell With Shoes On made its debut on the indie scene, grossing $169,606 from six theaters.
Premise:
Marcel, a one-inch-tall shell, searches for his family with the help of a documentary filmmaker.
A24 is releasing the well-reviewed film, which translated to an impressive $28,267 per location.
The charming Marcel the Shell will expand into additional markets next weekend.
The origins of this poignant and heartwarming feature began as a viral YouTube video about a plucky shell (voiced by Jenny Slate) with a lot of great qualities.
The live-action-animated coming-of-age mockumentary was directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jenny Slate and Nick Paley, based on a story the three of them created with Elisabeth Holm.
It is based on the short films of the same name created and uploaded to YouTube by Fleischer-Camp in 2010.
Slate reprises her voice role as Marcel, an anthropomorphic shell living with his grandmother Connie. Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, and Isabella Rossellini also star.
The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on Sep. 3, 2021, and then played at SXSW in March 2022.