American Pachuco: Luis Valdez doc opens strong specialized box office

IndieWire each week exclusively shares a box office chart via Rentrak looking at the top 10 releases in specialized release, presented in full with added commentary.

It's always nice to see some art house documentaries doing respectable business in theaters. This week, the new opening on the specialized chart was "American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez," which won the Audience Award in the documentary category at this year's Sundance.

The film only opened on one screen at the Film Forum in New York City, but it pulled in roughly $7,500 and had a sold out show on Friday night (note: Rentrak reported that it made $5,072, but figures directly from theater booker Michael Tuckman said it made closer to $7,500). For comparison, "Time and Water," another documentary that also premiered at this year's Sundance, similarly opened on just one screen in New York this summer and made $8,048. That film has in seven weeks legged out to $86K domestic.

"American Pachuco," though, is essentially being self-released with support from Tuckman. The film from director David Alvarado is a profile of the legendary Chicano playwright Luis Valdez, and the documentary features interviews with people like Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dolores Huerta, Lupe Valdez, Cheech Marin, Linda Ronstadt, Taylor Hackford, and Rose Portillo.

The film was actually the subject of some debate and controversy earlier this spring when it was still playing film festivals, as Valdez's story is also naturally tied closely to that of Cesar Chavez, who at the time of the film's release was the subject of sexual abuse accusations against the labor activist. Alvarado has had to address that in the wake of the film's release, and perhaps that forthrightness has aided the box office.

"American Pachuco" will this coming weekend open in Los Angeles in roughly a dozen theaters and has already sold out some screenings in downtown LA, East LA, and Orange County. It rolls out to the San Francisco Bay Area on July 31 and then to 20 additional markets over the remainder of the summer.

That wasn't the only documentary to pop on our chart this week, as "Mary Oliver: Saved By the Beauty of the World" and "Peter Asher: Everywhere Man" are still going strong. "Maddie's Secret" repeated at No. 1 on our chart, this week bringing in an additional $80K to now have surpassed $1 million domestic. And IFC's "Night Nurse," which last week opened on over 300 screens, now went down to just 33 screens and brought in only $4,158, a drop of 92 percent for an average of $126 per screen.

1. "Maddie's Secret" – $80,877
   • Distributor: Magnolia
   • Week: 5
   • Avg/Location: $951
   • Cumulative: $1.0M
2. "Mary Oliver: Saved By the Beauty of the World" – $50,028
   • Distributor: Kino Lorber
   • Week: 3
   • Avg/Location: $1,668
   • Cumulative: $171,444
3. "Peter Asher: Everywhere Man" – $12,303
   • Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
   • Week: 5
   • Avg/Location: $615
   • Cumulative: $202,439
4. "Romeria" – $10,478
   • Distributor: Janus Films
   • Week: 4
   • Avg/Location: $499
   • Cumulative: $113,290
5. "American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez" – $5,072
   • Distributor: mTuckman Media
   • Week: 1
   • Avg/Location: $5,072
   • Cumulative: $7,500
6. "Reading Lolita in Tehran" – $4,932
   • Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
   • Week: 2
   • Avg/Location: $2,466
   • Cumulative: $21,748
7. "Night Nurse" – $4,158
   • Distributor: IFC
   • Week: 2
   • Avg/Location: $126
   • Cumulative: $123,682
8. "Call of My Life" – $4,082
   • Distributor: Film One Entertainment
   • Week: 2
   • Avg/Location: $2,466
   • Cumulative: $21,748
9. "For the Love of a Woman" – $3,997
   • Distributor: Vivo Films
   • Week: 4
   • Avg/Location: $500
   • Cumulative: $39,786
10. "Horsegirls" – $3,652
    • Distributor: Sumerian Pictures
    • Week: 1
    • Avg/Location: $1,826
    • Cumulative: $3,652

IndieWire's criteria for inclusion on the Specialized Chart looks at independent and mini-major distributors with films that at their widest release at any point are below 500 screens, excluding event cinema, re-releases, and major Bollywood or Chinese North American releases.