Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Fjord’ scores strong North American debut after small-scale release

“Fjord,” Cristian Mungiu's movie, made the strongest debut at the North American box office, earning USD 124,000 from just four cinemas in New York and Los Angeles, according to News.ro.

The movie is a legal thriller about two parents (Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve) suspected of child abuse.

The film directed by Chris Rock, “Misty Green,” Alex Gibney’s incisive documentary about Elon Musk, “Musk,” and “Fjord,” Neon’s Palme d’Or-winning production, were among the new releases in the specialty box office market.

The commercial appeal of all three films, which hope to enter the Oscar race, will be put to the test with their nationwide releases in the coming weeks.

“Fjord” starts when Lisbet, a Christian woman who lives with her husband in a small Norwegian town, receives an unexpected visit from local officials who suspect the couple of abusing their children. She realizes that the visitors intend to take their children away before the investigation even begins.

The movie is filmed in what The New York Times said is characteristic of Mungiu, in long takes and no close-ups. “Fjord” also leaves viewers to judge for themselves who is the victim and who is the aggressor. This, the same source added, is the essence of the movie.

By comparison, “Other Mommy,” a horror film featuring Jessica Chastain, collected USD 27.5 million on its box office debut, beating the other new release this weekend, “The Social Reckoning,” which ranked only fifth, with revenue of just USD 5.5 million. The R-rated film, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, was expected to earn USD 7–8 million on its opening weekend.

Meanwhile, “Digger” recorded a sharp decline in its second weekend, earning USD 3.2 million from 3,321 cinemas, a 60% drop from its disappointing USD 8 million debut. To date, the Tom Cruise satire has barely collected USD 14 million domestically and USD 35.3 million worldwide. Warner Bros. spent more than USD 160 million producing the film.

Second place went to “Verity,” which earned $11.4 million from 3,572 cinemas, representing a sharp 64% drop from its opening weekend. “Resident Evil” dropped to third place, earning USD 8.3 million in its fourth weekend of release. “Heart of the Beast,” a wilderness adventure thriller about a man who survives a plane crash alongside his dog, ranked fourth, earning USD 7.1 million from 3,365 cinemas in its third week of release.