Mixed bag of a week for major releases – director Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious project, Megalopolis, took its greatest tumble at the box office on opening weekend with one of the weaker openings for a film of that stature. In the indie landscape, though, shine a light on MUBI’s The Substance, an edgy body horror from Coralie Fargeat that keeps racking up streaming numbers.
Open since Friday on a positive note, The Substance has opened strongly in the last weekend, holding up well in its second weekend. It has raked in around $1.8 million in the domestic market and $3.2 million abroad, bringing its total count worldwide to an approximate $14.8 million. With only a small push required to cross the $15 million milestone, the film is on a promising trajectory given it was produced on a budget of $17 million and came at a price of $12 million in its acquisition from Universal.
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Starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, with Dennis Quaid, The Substance is a revealing body horror film based on the true story of an aging celebrity who turns to black market drugs in a last-ditch effort to become the younger version of herself. Fargeat, whose film Revenge is described in several reviews as “a female revenge fantasy so transcendent that it comes close to making a new kind of sense,” is bringing a feminist twist to this film, which has already attracted attention by garnering a 90% “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes rating, although the audience score is less enthusiastic at 71%.
Critics are taking notice; Collider’s Caleb Hammond wrote that the film reminds him of Julia Ducournau’s Oscar-winning Titane, and he called Moore “fearless” in praising her willingness to bare all: “Afraid of nudity presented from every conceivable angle, Moore’s performance bares all.”.
Chalking a position next to indie heavyweights A24 and Neon, The Substance is a bright and dauntless addition to the specialty market. For those who are curious, the film is playing exclusively in theaters for now. Keep it locked to Collider for further updates on this and other exciting releases.
