'Rachel Getting Married' = Arty Hit

By Steve Mason | Thursday, October 09, 2008 It has been a long, hot, bone-dry summer at America’s arthouses. There were a few specialty hits in the spring like . But the drought finally ended this past weekend. Rachel Getting Married has the makings of an arthouse blockbuster, and screenwriter Jenny Lumet says, as a result, she's quickly learning about the concept of Per Theatre Average (PTA). “Is there such a thing as a boffo arthouse movie?" she asks. "I know that when a Will Smith movie comes out and grosses $40 million, it’s a hit, but I don’t know how to measure the success of my movie.” Indeed, the Jonathan Demme-directed character-driven comedy generated $32,59 per theater on nine screens last weekend, which is the 5th-best PTA of 2008. The IMAX-only Magnificent Desolation scored a $51,592 PTA last month, and . Instead... [read full story]