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Specialized box office: ‘Cantinflas’ open strong, ‘Chef’ hits $30 million

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The Spanish-language film “Cantinflas,” a bio-pic of the beloved Mexican film star of the same name, brought in an estimated $2.6 million Friday through Sunday in 382 locations, for a strong per-screen average of $6,872.

The film is the latest release from the company Pantelion, which targets Latino audiences in the U.S. The company had an even larger success this time last year with “Instructions Not Included.”

Another bright spot this weekend was Jon Favreau’s “Chef,” which brought in an estimated $664,000 on 757 screens Friday through Sunday, with an additional $198,000 projected for Monday. That would raise its cumulative total to $30.4 million, making “Chef” only the second specialized title to cross the $30 million threshold this year, after Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

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The musical romantic drama “Begin Again” starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, was pushed back into more theaters this weekend, bumping up to 335 locations for $784,000 and a new total of $15.3 million.

The Weinstein Co. could be trying to keep the movie in front of audiences in hopes of building momentum for the film’s music during awards season. Director John Carney saw his previous film “Once” win an Oscar for original song.

And to celebrate its 30th anniversary, Ivan Reitman’s beloved 1984 comedy “Ghostbusters” was re-released to 784 theaters and brought in a three-day total of $1.65 million.

Follow Mark Olsen on Twitter: @IndieFocus

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