Ildikó Enyedi’s Venice Prize-Winning Film ‘Silent Friend’ Opens Strong in Limited Release
Silent Friend, produced by 1-2 Special, achieved a notable opening of $74,400 across two locations in New York City, averaging $37,200 per theater. This figure marks the highest per-theater average for a non-English language film since Neon’s Oscar-winning Sentimental Value, according to the distributor. The film’s solid performance was bolstered by sold-out Q&A and non-Q&A screenings at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Angelika Film Center.
Directed by Ildikó Enyedi and featuring Tony Leung, Silent Friend garnered six awards at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, including the FIPRESCI Prize and Best Young Actress for newcomer Luna Welder. The film is set to expand in the New York tristate area and will open in cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco on May 15, with further releases planned for May 22 and 29.
The film’s promising debut reflects well on its upcoming rollout, holding a 97% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 reviews. It tells the story of three lives intertwined around a majestic ginkgo tree over a century in a botanical garden within a medieval German university town.
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Obscured Releasing marked a successful opening for the well-received sexual psychodrama Blue Film, directed by Elliot Tuttle, with a gross of $31,000 from two engagements at the IFC Center in New York and Landmark Sunset in Los Angeles. The film will expand to San Francisco, BAM, and Laemmle Glendale next week. The narrative follows a fetish camboy, Aaron Eagle (Kieron Moore), who agrees to spend the night with an anonymous client, only to uncover a troubling connection to his past.
The Python Hunt, from Oscilloscope Labs, debuted with a gross of $13,800 at the Angelika Film Center in NYC. Directed by Xander Robin, this documentary, set in the Everglades, will roll out to select markets throughout May, featuring in-person appearances at key Southern engagements and special events across Florida. The film explores an annual snake hunting competition organized by the state of Florida to combat the invasive python population threatening the Everglades ecosystem. According to the distributor, “this documentary is wild…but beyond the thrill of the hunt, the film delivers a deeply nuanced and compelling anthropological observation of humanity in nature, all captured in a vibey container with a carefully curated soundtrack.”
Influenced, produced by Brainstorm Media and Menemsha Films, opened with $13,100 at NYC’s Quad Cinema. Directed by Rachel Israel and written by and starring Jill Kargman, it will expand to Los Angeles and Phoenix next week, followed by releases in Boston and Chicago on May 29, and subsequently in Philadelphia, D.C., Toronto, and other cities.
Other indie films continue to gain traction as well.
This weekend, Steal This Story, Please! directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, about pioneering journalist Amy Goodman and her daily news broadcast Democracy Now!, made its debut in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis, while still screening in select locations. The estimated weekend gross is $63,500 across 33 screens, with $25,000 coming from the Music Box in Chicago, bringing its cumulative total to $382,000.
The film will also be screening in Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas next week as it expands into over 100 markets throughout May and June. Deal, Lessin, and Goodman will be traveling across the country to support the release.
The cryptocurrency documentary Everyone Is Lying To You For Money directed by Ben McKenzie garnered an estimated $11,700 across nine screens, resulting in a cumulative total of $88,000, with sold-out Q&A sessions over the weekend in Seattle and Portland. Plans are in place for a Chicago release next week.
Janus Films continued the national rollout of Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron in its fourth week, generating an estimated $121,000 from 97 screens for a total of $277,500. The film has achieved a certified RT Fresh rating at 97%.
Our Hero Balthazar, directed by Oscar Boyson, grossed $36,600 for a cumulative total of $217,000 across 20 screens, including its seventh week at the Village East in NYC, where the cast and crew continue to engage in weekly in-person Q&A sessions since its initial release on March 27. The film, produced by Picturehouse, has attracted more than 85,000 followers on its parody Instagram account (@bboymalone212). With Halsey as an executive producer, the film stars Jaeden Martell as a wealthy New York teenager who tries to impress his activist crush by following an online lead to Texas, where he believes he can prevent an act of extreme violence.
Wide-release indie films also made their mark on the box office, filling the 8th, 9th, and 10th spots as reported by Comscore, all in their second week. Neon’s horror film Hokum, led by Adam Scott and directed by Damian McCarthy, racked up an estimated $3.3 million over three days across 1,900 screens, resulting in a cumulative total of around $12.5 million. Reni Harlin’s shark thriller Deep Water from Magenta Light Studios is projected to earn $780,000 over the weekend across 1,301 locations, with a cumulative total of $3.7 million. Meanwhile, Andy Serkis’ animated adaptation of Animal Farm brought in $663,000 for the weekend, culminating in a total of $5 million.
Additionally, Roadside Attractions’ historical, faith-based film A Great Awakening surpassed $8 million in its sixth week, earning $33,000 across 87 theaters.
