Specialty box office: IFC Center indie weekend lifts Maddie’s Secret, Girls Like Girls, Leviticus

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This weekend’s indie slate reinforced a simple fact for theaters: well-timed releases and artist-led events still draw audiences. At New York’s IFC Center, John Early’s Maddie’s Secret posted the venue’s strongest opening in more than two years, while a new music-documentary distributor scored a national bump with a Gregg Allman film that filled houses coast to coast.

Arthouse momentum at IFC Center

John Early’s Maddie’s Secret brought in roughly $58,200 across the weekend at the IFC Center, marking the theater’s biggest opening since the pandemic lull. That total ranks the film among the venue’s top launches and was boosted by a series of sold‑out Q&A screenings.

Early appeared in person for multiple post‑show conversations, drawing crowds of younger moviegoers eager for live events. Moderators ranged from comedians to filmmakers, and the packed rooms helped the picture reach near‑capacity runs across the weekend.

The film, which played at TIFF and New Directors/New Films before landing opening night at the Los Angeles Festival of Movies, follows a dishwasher who rises to viral fame at a trendy food content studio and confronts resurfacing struggles with an eating disorder. Early stars alongside Eric Rahill and Kate Berland, with an ’80s‑tinged score from frequent collaborator Michael Hesslein. The release expands to additional Los Angeles venues next week, with more city rollouts scheduled for early July.

Music doc finds an audience

Subtext, a recently launched distributor, opened Gregg Allman: The Music Of My Soul to an estimated $375,000 on 199 screens over five days. Originally planned as a one‑night event, the documentary added encore screenings after ticket demand climbed.

The film, directed by James Keach and produced by longtime Allman manager Michael Lehman, carries strong audience enthusiasm — reflected in its high ratings on review aggregators — and played at venues ranging from historic theaters in the Southeast to cultural houses in the Midwest and New Jersey.

Subtext executives said the rollout underlined a broader point: theatrical releases remain a potent platform for music‑centered cinema and mobilized fan bases. The documentary will stay in select locations this week ahead of a national encore on the weekend.

Other notable limited and specialty openings

Smaller releases and specialty bookings continued to perform steadily, reinforcing the split between event cinema and wide studio distribution.

Rose Of Nevada — Platformed by 1-2 Special, the Mark Jenkin drama launched to about $25,000 from three theaters. Jenkin is on a Q&A tour, and the film expands to New York, Los Angeles and several other markets next week; it currently holds strong reviews from critics.

Peter Asher: Everywhere Man — Greenwich Entertainment’s exclusive run at New York’s Quad Cinema topped the house with an estimated $9,500. The Telluride premiere chronicles Asher’s multi‑decade career and will broaden to the West Coast and other cities shortly.

Girls Like Girls — The coming‑of‑age feature from Focus Features grossed about $1.6 million at 504 theaters, carrying favorable critic and audience scores.

Wider market snapshots

On wider screens, new and established titles filled distinct niches. Neon’s Leviticus opened on 1,076 sites and grossed approximately $2.75 million, anchoring genre interest for the weekend.

A24’s The Death of Robin Hood, shot on 35mm and led by Hugh Jackman, bowed to about $2.6 million across 1,762 theaters, landing in the lower top ten for domestic box office.

These results illustrate a continuing pattern: eventized, personality‑driven films and curated theatrical experiences are reliably pulling audiences, while mid‑range studio fare competes for broader multiplex attention.

Box office dynamics this weekend suggest that theatrical programming that combines festival pedigree, creator appearances, or devoted fan communities can still generate meaningful revenue—and importantly, build momentum for staggered platform rollouts over the summer.