Amy Winehouse is the name behind the second most-hyped documentary of the year thus far, and it paid off, creating the largest homeland opening weekend for a British documentary in history (the most-hyped doc has to be Montage of Heck, the recently released film on Kurt Cobain). Amy, directed by Asif Kapadia, brought in more than $800,000 in the UK. Good reviews and an expansion from 133 theaters to 200 will keep that number rising.
"It is testament to not only an incredible film, from some of the U.K's leading filmmakers, but also to the unique talent and enormous lasting appeal of Amy Winehouse-we are delighted that audiences have chosen to celebrate the life of the truly talented musical icon," said Hamish Moseley, head of distribution for Altitude.
As we mentioned, the film was the largest opening in history for a British documentary in its homeland. It was also the second largest opening opening for a documentary in general, trailing only Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Kapadia is a noted director of documentaries, particularly for his 2010 film Senna—which looked at the life of Grand Prix racer Ayrton Senna—which brought in $580,000 during its first weekend.
It's worth noting that when American earnings are taken into consideration, the film has already grossed more than $1 million. Although it only showed at six theaters across New York City and Los Angeles, the film still managed to take in nearly $225,000. Expect that success to drive further expansion of showings.
Much of the hype was generated not only by Winehouse's fame and notoriety in life, but also thanks to rave reviews from showings at the Cannes Film Festival and other film events. The film has also remained in the headlines due to the outrage from the vocalist's family, who claim that too much responsibility is placed on them for Winehouse's demise. Other reviews have noted that no one is safe from blame.
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