Indie Specialized Box Office Chart: ‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’ Doesn’t Have the Same Pull as ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’
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- 'Pinocchio: Unstrung' topped IndieWire's specialized box office chart for 7/24–7/26 with a $386K opening weekend from 500 screens, directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the filmmaker who pioneered public-domain children's-story horror
- The $386K debut already surpassed the domestic runs of two Frake-Waterfield-produced films, 'Bambi: The Reckoning' ($408.8K domestic) and 'Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare' ($1.6M worldwide total)
- The Pinocchio opening trails Frake-Waterfield's two 'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' hits, which opened to $652K in 2023 and $533K in 2024 and each cleared $7M worldwide
- 'Haunted Heist', directed by Lil Rel Howery and starring Tiffany Haddish, placed #2 with $302K from 373 screens, while Egyptian action comedy 'Take Care of Yourself' earned $72K for #3
- Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Sheep in the Box' (Neon) made $31,450 from just three screens, and Bob Uecker documentary 'Ueck' grossed $68,139 in a Wisconsin-exclusive Marcus Theaters run, landing at #4
- Five of the Top 10 specialized releases were new limited openings, not counting single-screen debuts like MUBI's 'Rosebush Pruning' and TIFF doc 'A Life Illuminated'; 'Jack Johnson: SURFILMUSIC' held at #10 with $28,135 in its seventh week
Why it matters: Frake-Waterfield built a cottage industry out of public-domain horror, but Pinocchio's $386K debut — below both Blood and Honey openings — signals the formula's draw may weaken as he mines less iconic IP. The fact that it still beat his own Bambi and Peter Pan productions ($408.8K domestic, $1.6M worldwide) shows the franchise remains viable, just not as viral as Pooh.
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